MARCH 2019; EMMER CONTENTS HISTORY Emmerging from the Nile . .. 02 FOOD WAYS Farro Emmergency . 03 FROM THE FIELD Small Valley Milling . .. 05 ARTISANS White Rose Miso ISAIAH BILLINGTON & SARAH CONEZIO . 07 The Pasta Lab CHRIS WRIGHT . 09 TIPS & RECIPES Winter Tabbouleh . 11 Jamie’s Favorite Lasagna . 12 Emmer Shorties . 15 © Lost Bread Co., 2019 HISTORY FOOD WAYS Emmerging from the Nile Jamie Cohen The flood patterns of the Nile River 332 B.C.E., and so began the next three allowed for sophisticated agriculture in centuries of Egypt under Greek rule. Ancient Egypt, which for a time relied With the Greeks came Greek culture, Farro Emmergency heavily on the production of emmer customs, and of course: agriculture. As wheat. Scientific name Triticum dicoccum, crops increased in variety, emmer (I know that’s not how it’s Spelt) also known as Olyra in ancient Greek, decreased in use and value until its and Boti or Corn in Demotic Egyptian, is eventual replacement by Durum Wheat, native to the Mediterranean. This which requires less labor to process. ancient cereal served various forms of economic importance in prehistoric Still much confusion and mystery You might think emmer is an obscure you head to an Italian food shop to pick Egypt through Graeco-Roman times. surround the utilization and ultimate grain you’ve maybe never tasted, until up farro, what you will most likely find is abandonment of emmer wheat in Ancient you realize it’s also called farro. Here’s emmer, which is also known as ‘true Emmer wheat was used for payment, Egypt. Archaeologists often find it tricky the tricky thing: so are spelt and einkorn. farro’ in Italy. But since the Italians stuck beer, porridge, and for baking loaves they to distinguish emmer from einkorn, its them all under one umbrella, we got called Kyllestis. In comparison to modern older sibling, and perhaps the term corn Let us explain. confused – U.S. products labeled ‘Farro,’ wheat, emmer has a much lower gluten described several types of grain. Today, are sometimes actually spelt or einkorn. content, which results in bread that more it’s still widely eaten in Italy (where it’s Farro is an Italian term with three closely resembles pita or flatbread. known as farro) and health nuts in the classifications:farro piccolo (little farro), Emmer is a German word dating back to U.S. are using Ancient Grain branding to farro medio (medium farro), and farro the High Middle Ages, and the word we This flatbread was a dietary staple until push it back into the spotlight. grande (big farro) – what we know as adopted here in the U.S. in the early 20th the conquest by Alexander the Great in einkorn, emmer, and spelt respectively. If century. So, say you’re using Google 3 FOOD WAYS FROM THE FIELD Translate to get all this straight. From remains the most prized of the farros by German to Italian, emmer translates to laymen, in part due to its scarcity and farro. But If you translate from Italian to tentative reputation as ‘the oldest wheat’. German, farro translates to spelt. And from English to Italian, emmer translates Emmer can be tricky to work with, but to farro in Italian, but try the reverse and when milled finely and adequately you get ‘spelled.’ That’s not even a grain!! hydrated makes a deceptively strong bread, pizza, or pasta base imbued with Small The (mostly) foolproof way to know what the sweet toasty flavor we love before it you’re buying is to look for the scientific even hits the oven. name. The three grains are different species in the genus, Triticum (Latin for Opinion is divided at the bakery about Valley wheat), Triticum monococcum (Einkorn), which farro has the best appeal, but we Triticum dicoccum (Emmer) and Triticum deeply appreciate the agricultural spelta (Spelt). adaptability that keep emmer and spelt high-yielding and lucrative for our Milling All three are hulled wheats, meaning the farmer friends and affordable and grains are enclosed by glumes (husks) plentiful for us! that must be pounded or milled after harvest (other wheats, like hard red and durum are free-threshing, which means Joel Steigman, farmer at Small Valley Steigman understands the value of a the grains lose their hull in the combine). Milling in Halifax, PA, is growing more fall back plan – he and his wife, Elaine, emmer than usual this year. Come April, have been farming for about 50 years. And they are distinctly charactered he’ll be planting a spring variety across They raised conventional hay, corn and grains, best suited for different purposes. 30 acres -- land that should have been livestock until the late 1990s when Of the three, spelt has been most sown with spelt last fall. Steigman decided to switch to organic hybridized with modern wheats (no, we farming practices and grow specialty don’t mean GMO--just a simple “Emmer is great for when we get a year grains. cross-pollination in the fields), and so it like this,” Steigman says -- a year with has the most variety in its base baking particularly high rainfall, he means. Last He started growing Lucille organic properties. Some spelts are quite fragile October, most of his fields were too emmer about 10 years ago, around the and delicate, great for biscuits and scones, soggy to sow spelt; he usually grows 70 time demand in the U.S. for farro (and while others are hardy enough to use as a acres, but this year he was only able to “ancient grains”) spiked. Since it’s grown primary bread flour. plant about 40. in the spring, it strengthens his crop rotation and, in particularly wet years Einkorn has soft flavors, sweet and “If it’s too wet [in the fall], you let the like 2018, he can plant it in place of spelt. redolent of stone fruit that is particularly ground open until spring and then you evident in its aroma when baked. It plant the emmer,” he says. Emmer has lower average yields, which 5 FROM THE FIELD ARTISANS is why it’s more expensive than spelt brimming with the plumpest, most (Small Valley’s emmer is about double beautiful kernels we’ve seen. It is this the price of their spelt). “We have to combination of quality product, figure profit per acre,” Steigman says. commitment to service, and respect of proper storage and handling that have He’s hoping to get his emmer in the made Small Valley Milling our primary ground in April and harvest around the supplier of grains at Lost Bread Co. beginning of July, but there’s always a chance things won’t go according to plan. White “When you’re in agriculture,” Steigman says, Rose Miso “You’re at the weather’s mercy.” Isaiah Billington & Sarah Conezio We first encountered the Steigman’s We started making our emmer farro miso are responsible, respectively, for the spelt and emmer, unknowingly, 5+ years when we were first learning about miso sweet and umami flavors for which miso ago in the form of Castle Valley Mill fermentation. We didn’t know that miso is prized. Since we didn’t know, at the flour, and have since learned that they is almost always made from koji, grown time, what we didn’t know, we omitted are one of the primary suppliers of these on a grain like rice or barley, and the beans entirely. This left us with a grains in the mid-Atlantic. The honeyed, soybeans. We were also unaware that miso concentrated fully on sweetness grassy notes of the spelt allured us, and most grains for miso production are -- syrupy with a tawny caramel aroma we found it easy to incorporate the flour highly polished -- the bran is removed so from the bran. into our repertoire. Emmer’s deep, that the mold can grow freely, unimpeded roasted nut and dark caramel notes were by seed armor. We did know that we had Drop the miso into broth, just like you intoxicating, but the flour was beyond a ton of whole grain emmer farro from would with any white miso, or get our skill level at the time. We were Small Valley Milling, an organic grain creative! The chefs that order it from us thrilled to rediscover it more recently, outfit just north of Harrisburg. currently use it folded into bread dough, and to find that the Steigmans have been whipped into butter to accompany bread, working diligently to make this Miso fermentation is the process of or incorporate it into any wet rub or glaze wonderful grain more accessible. growing a specific mold on a grain (the for roasting or broiling fish, squash, or previously mentioned koji), which creates carrots. We like to use it in dressings and Like all of their whole grains, their enzymes that break down complex sauces as well, to add depth of flavor to emmer arrives immaculately cleaned starches into sugar and proteins into simple meals. and packaged in vacuum-seal bags, amino acids. Those sugars and aminos 7 ARTISANS ARTISANS EMMER FARRO MISO NOODLES Keep in mind this is the ultra basic version of this recipe, presented just to highlight the marriage of miso and butter, as well as miso’s sauce-binding capabilities . There’s no reason not to involve some chile flake, sage leaf, black pepper, good hard grating cheese, citrus or vinegar, or any other embellishments to tailor for your palate and occasion! Chris Wright Makes two servings (for light eaters) You’ll Need: 8 oz. Short noodles 1 Bunch adult spinach, washed and When the crew over at Lost Bread presented us with a bag of superfine whole (farfalle is ideal) rough chopped grain emmer flour we quickly scrambled home and turned this into a silky dough 1-2 Tablespoons butter 1-2 Tablespoons Emmer Farro Miso for fresh pasta .