Several decades on, I am still an oat-lover (in fact, I’m such a fan that I’m currently writing a book on traditional British uses of them). But if you look in my kitchen now, you’ll find many more types of oats than just my childhood rolled ones.

The choice on our shelves these days can be bewildering – groats, rolled, thick, old-fashioned, quick, instant, oatmeal, pinhead, steel-cut, sprouted, black and naked. This article is a comprehensive guide to the types of oats available, how they’ve been processed and how to use each type the traditional way.

What are oats?

Almost all of the oats you’ll find in kitchens throughout the world are seeds of the grass genus Avena Sativa. These grow covered by a hard, inedible hull which has to be removed before the seed can be used as a grain. The hull adheres strongly to the seed and in the process of removing it the grain is very often damaged and exposed to the air. This activates an enzyme called lipase which degrades the fats in the oats causing them to go rancid, giving them a bitter taste. To avoid this happening, oat grains are ‘stabilised’ (heat and steam treated) at the very early stages of processing.

Most of the oats we buy are already ‘cooked’

This stablilsation means that the oats that make it to our kitchens (unless they are naked or sprouted oats) have been ‘cooked’ using a mix of heat and moisture (at an average temperature of 90-100°C).

Once the dehulling and stabilisation has been completed, oats are processed in a number of ways. This article explains what you might see at your mill or supplier, sorted from the least-processed to the most-processed:

Types of oats, how they’ve been processed and how to use each the traditional way

Oat groats

These are whole, unground, uncut oat grain. As they are whole grains, they take the longest to cook of any oat.

These weren’t often traditionally-used for porridge (though our ancestors in the UK did use the for savoury ‘puddings’), but I think they are great cooked this way.

If you want to use oat groats for porridge/oatmeal, cook them as an alternative to rice or add them to a stew, I suggest soaking them overnight in water. The next day, drain and rinse them, before cooking for at least 35 minutes. For a cup of soaked groats, you’ll need around 3 cups of liquid (broth is a great savoury choice instead of water here!)

Stone-milled oats:

The only way of making the whole oat grains into smaller pieces, more suitable for cooking, until well into the 1900s was to process the grains in stone mill. This created a meal (rather than the more commonly found rolled oats we see today). This meal is what our European oat eating ancestors (who didn’t have rolled oats) would have eaten.

Why Our Scottish Ancestors Didn’t Eat Rolled Oats (link to article)

Stone milled oats are still available, though can be harder to source outside of the UK. They come in three grades:

Pinhead oatmeal

Oat groats ground between two millstones set very widely apart to break the groat into a few pieces.

This was traditionally used for porridge (oatmeal), particularly in Ireland.

To make a traditional pinhead oatmeal porridge, soak the oatmeal in water overnight using one part oatmeal to four parts water by weight (you can add a tablespoon of something acidic, like apple cider vinegar to aid digestion) and then, in the morning, cook the mix, adding some salt (traditionally porridge was salty, not sweet), for 20 minutes, stirring regularly.

Medium oatmeal (often called Scottish oatmeal in the US)

These oats have been stoneground with the millstones set to create a medium meal.

Medium oatmeal was traditionally used for porridge in Scotland and in many other parts of the UK. It was also used in haggis, in puddings and sausages and as a coating when frying fish.

To make a traditional medium oatmeal porridge the Scottish way, bring water to the boil and, when it’s boiling, sprinkle in the medium oatmeal, stirring constantly. Once all of the oatmeal is incorporated, turn the pan down low, add salt (traditionally porridge was salty, not sweet) and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring regularly. To serve three people I use 180g medium oatmeal, 900g water and a half teaspoon salt.

Fine oatmeal

By stone-grinding the oat grains with the millstones more closely together, a fine oatmeal is produced.

Fine oatmeal was traditionally used for oatcakes – a savoury oat cracker – as well as a thickener for soups and stews.

Try my recipe for Naturally-Fermented Staffordshire Oatcakes which makes a delicious crêpe-like pancake or my Traditional Scottish Oatcakes recipe which will give you authentic Scottish oat crackers, great with soups or some cheese!

(If you want to try these two recipes and you don’t have fine oatmeal, don’t despair, they can easily be made with rolled oats too – follow the instructions in the recipes!)

Oats produced in steel mills:

In contrast to this traditional stone milling, most of the oats on our shelves today have been processed in modern steel mills. Here’s what you can find:

Steel Cut/Irish oats

Steel cut oats are so called because steel blades cut the whole groat into two or three pieces.

This type of oats are often called Irish oats in the US because the pieces are the same size as pinhead oatmeal, the type of oatmeal historically used to make porridge in Ireland.

In the kitchen, steel cut oats work in a similar way to their stone-ground cousin, pinhead oatmeal. If you want to make a traditional porridge with them, follow the instructions in the pinhead oatmeal section above.

Rolled Oats:

Rolled oats are so ubiquitous these days that one might think they’ve always been around. They are, however, a modern creation; the process of rolling oats only having been invented in 1877.

The Differences Between Rolled Oats and Oatmeal (link to article)

All rolled oats, whether large or small, are steam processed (for a second time, remembering they’ve already been steamed to prevent rancidity) before being rolled. This makes them softer and less likely to create dusty waste.

‘Old-fashioned’ Oats/Rolled Oats/Jumbo Oats

These, being the largest form of rolled oats, are whole oat grains that are re-steamed and run through roller mills to create large flakes.

These can be used to make a non-traditional (but very tasty!) porridge. There’s no need to soak them, cooking for 10-15 minutes on the stove does the job. If you’d like to serve traditionally, add salt during the cooking time.

I also have some traditionally-inspired recipes that use rolled oats! Try my cheesy oatcake-topped cottage pie or my sourdough oatcakes.

‘Quick Cook’ Rolled Oats

To make these smaller flaked oats, broken oat grains are re-steamed and put through roller mills.

These take just a few minutes on the stove to produce a porridge.

‘Instant’ Rolled Oats

These are the smallest, and hence the quickest cooking, form of rolled oats. They were brought to the oat market in 1966 by Quaker (who are now ownedi by Pepsi). Small pieces of oat grain are re-steamed and put through roller mills to create tiny, thin flakes.

I don’t think our ancestors would recognise instant oats (in texture or flavour). As a real food oat-lover, I’ve never used these.

The oat challenge:

If you’ve only ever used rolled oats, try something different this week. It’s easy to get hold of pinhead or steel cut oats – soak them before bed and take a few more moments in the kitchen to cook up your porridge the next morning. I think you’ll be surprised at how great it tastes!

Different Types of Oats – FAQs

Which type of oats is the healthiest?

Generally, the less a food is processed, the healthier it is. With this criteria, oat groats, that have had no further processing than their initial dehulling and stabilising are the healthiest.

But I am of the mind that the real food that you like is the healthiest. If you’re buying, cooking, and eating real food that you will like you’re more likely to continue with it – so choose the type of oat you like best.

How can I access stone-ground oats outside of the UK?

There are companies that import oats that have been stone-ground in the UK to other parts of the world. Check online to see if there’s one near you. In the US, Bob’s Red Mill sell a product called ‘Scottish oatmeal’ which is stoneground oats that are similar to British medium oatmeal.

Can I roll my own oats at home?

Yes you can! And they taste so much better rolled at home! Have a look at my article How to Roll Oats at Home (& 3 Good Reasons To Do It!).

Can I stone-grind my own oats at home?

It is possible to stone-grind oats from groats at home, but it is very difficult to replicate the pinhead/medium/fine grades of oatmeal that are available from large stone mills. This is because the stone mills use a number of sieves to sieve the meal into uniform sizes.

If you have a Mockmill, you can grind oats on any number above #3 (do not grind them on numbers #1 or #2 – the grain is too fatty and will clog up your meal). Using #3 or above will grind the oats but will give you a range of particle sizes from very fine dust to large chunks of oat groat. For making porridge this method works practically but does not replicate the porridge that you would make with uniform-sized commercially-produced oatmeal

How To Make Stone-Ground Oats in the Mockmill (link to article)

I love porridge/oatmeal. What else can I make with oats?

So many things! Here’s a selection of my traditional and traditionally-inspired recipes:

Traditional Scottish Oatcakes

Naturally-Fermented Staffordshire Oatcakes

Sourdough Oatcakes

Cheesy oatcake-topped cottage pie

Sowans: The Scottish Oat Ferment

You can get three traditional oat recipes in my free download The Heritage Oat Collection. Enter your details below and I’ll send to your inbox:

I am currently in the process of writing a book to be called Oats: Recipes & Stories from the British Isles. It will include 50 recipes along with the stories of how this grain sustained many generations of people in the UK. Stay in touch via my newsletter (there is a sign up at the top of every page on this site) to hear the latest on this.

How can I make my oats healthier?

Fermenting your oats will unlock more nutrition and make them easier to digest. Learn how in my comprehensive article:

How to Make Fermented Oats

Is buying organic oats important?

I would always recommend buying organic oats. Choosing organic means that you are supporting farmers who care for our soil and our environment, stewarding it for the next generation. It also means that any residues left over from pesticides or fertilisers aren’t on your grains.

What are ‘naked’ oats?

‘Naked’ oats are a type of oat that, instead of having a hard difficult-to-detach hull, has a paper-thin hull. It is easier to prepare these grains for human consumption – it takes a lot of energy to remove the hard hull on standard oats; not as much energy is needed to remove the paper-thin hull on ‘naked’ oats.

Because these ‘naked’ oats do not have to go through a tough, damaging, process to remove their hulls, they are not heated before they get to our shelves. This results in a oat that is raw.

What are sprouted oats?

Sprouted oats are raw oats that have gone through a soaking and germination process to sprout them. This process is then halted by drying and the sprout knocked off. The sprouted groats can then be used as you would use a standard oat.

What are black oats?

Black oats are a type of oats that has a black hull. They were traditionally grown in large areas of Scandinavia and in Wales. Here are some I saw on a visit to Holden Farm in Wales:

What about oat flour?

Oat flour is a modern phenomenon which is finer than fine oatmeal. It can be purchased but can also be made from oatmeal or rolled oats by processing them in a high-powered coffee grinder or mixer.

You might also like:

The Heritage Oat Collection

The Difference Between Rolled Oats and Oatmeal

Sourdough Porridge

The Fascinating History of Jannock: The Giant Oat Bread That Defined Authenticity!

The Best Way to Soak Oats

Traditional Scottish Oatcakes

I’ve been making sowans in my kitchen regularly for over five years – I love it – and I have also delved into its history for my forthcoming book on traditional British oat dishes. If you’re curious about sowans, this is the article for you!

Sowans, with a Scottish voice, is pronounced ‘sue-ens’. You might see it spelled ‘sowens’ and in the Shetland Isles it was called ‘Virpa’

History of sowans

Although oats have been eaten in the United Kingdom for thousands of years, widespread oat farming only took hold after the Roman invasion when the troops, in order to feed their horses, brought the oat grain to the British Isles. Oats love the UK’s wet, mild climate and quickly caught on as a staple crop.

Although we don’t find the oat fermentation sowans mentioned in literature until the 1600s, it is very likely, knowing how long parts of the UK have subsisted on oats, that this dish was being made long before that date.

Oats were grown close to home. After harvest, the farmers would sent their sacks of oat grains to the mill to be ground into flour (rolled oats didn’t come onto the scene until much later, read about it in my article Why Our Scottish Ancestors Didn’t Eat Rolled Oats). Once the miller had done his job, the householder would not only get sacks of prepared oats back, but also sacks of ‘waste’ (called sids).

These sids were the hulls that had been knocked off the oats as they were processed. Clinging to them were tiny pieces of the centre of the oat grain – the white, starchy endosperm.

Sowans was a zero-waste food

Instead of being thrown away, this bag of waste, the sids, was transformed, through fermentation, into delicious, nutritious food – sowans.

When mixed with water, these sids contained everything needed to complete the fermentation naturally. The tiny pieces of white starch gave the microorganisms in the ferment starch to feed on, and the hull pieces were a haven for yeasts and bacteria. This means that no inoculant (or starter) was needed to create an active ferment – it was already natively in the grain.

Sowans is a porridge

Once the fermentation was complete, the mixture was put through a sieve which removed the pieces of hull/bran and produced a smooth, white liquid. This liquid, which contained the fermenting water and the tiny pieces of the white oat grain was then cooked to produce a porridge.

Making sowans also creates a probiotic drink called swats

The liquid that the oats were fermented with had it’s own name – swats (or swots). This can be drunk as is (and that way is a live probiotic) or can be cooked along with the sowans and therefore included in the porridge. Often, our ancestors would use a large amount of swats in the saucepan and create a liquidy ‘drinking sowans’.

Sowans was traditionally consumed by the whole family on Christmas Eve which was, in some parts of Scotland, knows as ‘sowans nicht’ (sowans night).

Sowans is a health food

Sowans was considered a health food in Scotland. Diving into the process, it’s easy to see why:

Starting with the raw ingredient – oats, as most of us know, oats are known to be beneficial to health. They have a role to play in lowering cholesterol and maintaining blood sugar levels. They also contain beta-glucan which is a prebiotic – meaning it feeds the probiotics in your intestines.

Both the sowans and swats are probiotic foods. Because we cook the porridge sowans, the live probiotics are lost. That does not mean, however, that all the benefits of the fermentation are lost; the latest research tells us that fermentation microbes which remain behind after cooking are extremely beneficial to our health (read more here).

In addition, because the starch in sowans has been both fermented and pre-digested, it can nourish us with proteins/vitamins and minerals with very little digestive effort. This allows our bodies energy to be used in healing, rather than trying to break down our food.

What does sowans taste like?

I have been making sowans and swats in my kitchen regularly, using modern ingredients and equipment, for years. Myself and my family enjoy the product of this fermentation often and love it.

Sowans is creamy and smooth – it feels to me like eating clouds! It’s nuanced in flavour – pleasantly tart but with delicious honey aromas that arise from the fermentation.

The liquid that the oats ferment in, swats, is zingy and fresh, reminiscent of watery lemon juice. It is refreshing drunk cold on a hot day but also wonderful warmed and spiced.

How do you make sowans?

We may not grow oats in our backyard or have access to sacks of sids from our local mill, but we can still enjoy the flavour and health benefits of sowans and swats in our kitchens today!

Oats can be fermented with water (I’d recommend a 1:4 ratio of oats to water) for several days, sieved and then cooked up into this historic, traditional dish.

My course, Sowans: The Scottish Oat Ferment, will guide you through the whole process, no matter what grains you have access to or equipment you have in your kitchen. It includes two hours of video guidance and plenty of downloads to keep at hand. I explain what to look for at every stage and how you can ensure you are safely fermenting your grains.

Here’s a little peak at one of the videos included in the course:

How to eat sowans (and swats)

I want to leave you with the ways my family eat sowans and swats:

Sowans porridge:

Most often, I make a thick porridge with sowans by mixing it with double its volume in water. Other times, I cook the fermented oats in the swats liquid (the swats) instead of water.

Traditionally, this was eaten with salt and butter, but it is also delicious with fruit, honey and nuts or any of the toppings we add to porridge/oatmeal these days!

I also love sowans as a mashed potato substitute! Here it is with sausages:

Drinking sowans:

Drinking sowans is a warming, comforting cuppa. Here, I add more liquid before cooking and make a pourable sowans. This is lovely infused with spices and sweetened with honey.

Sowans in baked goods:

Sowans can also be used as an ingredient in baked goods. Sowans scones were popular in Scotland (there’s a recipe for them in my course). I have also used sowans very effectively in bread-baking to make a ‘scald’ for my sourdough breads. Here’s a link to the recipe for the bread if you want to give it a go!

Swats

Swats is wonderful drunk as it is. It is full of probiotics, zingy and really refreshing from the fridge in hot weather.

But the way I drink it most is gently warmed. I love it straight warm – it’s comforting and nourishing drink. But most often I make what I’ve coined as ‘mulled swats’ – I gently warm the swats on the stove with spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamon, mace, anise.

Aside from drinking, I have used swats as the liquid part of my sourdough breads and built bread starters (or leavens) using swats. I also use the liquid as a starter in other ferments – anywhere where I need a starter.

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Traditional Scottish Oatcakes

Sourdough Oatcakes

How to Make Fermented Oats

I make 100% wholegrain sourdough rye loaves in my kitchen every week. The flavour is deep, rich and tangy and the breads – which I can slice and make into sandwiches – are always finished too quickly! That’s where these sourdough rye crackers, made again with 100% wholegrain rye flour, save the day. I can make up a batch at the weekend and they will keep all week, filling holes in my families nutrient-dense food when they are needed.

Simple ingredients

The recipe is deceptively simple. It can be made with a fresh sourdough starter or with sourdough discard. Aside from the flour and starter, all your need is a bit of fat and some salt/flavourings.

For the crackers you see in this post, I used rye flour that I freshly-milled at home using rye berries from Grand Teton Ancient Grains. Freshly-milled flour is the icing on the cake when it comes to these crackers, but they can easily be made with pre-milled wholegrain rye flour too.

By hand or food processor

I mix the dough by hand. It’s not difficult and I’ll walk you through the steps. If you prefer to use a food processor, it’s even quicker!

I cut these into rounds using a 3-inch (7.6cm) cookie cutter. There’s no need for you to do this though, you can score the dough manually into squares before cooking or even bake as one whole sheet of cracker (it’s fun to break this by hand when it’s crispy!)

Wholegrain Rye Sourdough Crackers Recipe

• Makes: 28-30 3-inch crackers
• Prep time: 25 minutes (plus overnight rest)
• Baking time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:

• 100 g (approx 1 cup) wholegrain rye flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• 50 g lard (can be substituted with butter or olive oil)
• 100 g (approx half cup) sourdough starter, can be discard
• 1- 4 tbsp water, if needed

Method:

• In a bowl, mix the wholegrain rye flour, salt and caraway seeds.
• Measure in the lard (or butter) chopping it into small pieces as you do so.
• Using your fingers, rub the fat into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Measure in the sourdough starter (or discard), mix this in well – the dough should start to come together as you do so.
• Depending on the hydration of your sourdough starter, your dough may need more water to adhere together well. You want your dough a little sticky, this way it’ll crack less when you roll it out. Make a judgement and add more water if necessary. (When I make these crackers using freshly-ground rye and my 70% hydration wholegrain rye sourdough starter, I generally need to add 2-4 tablespoons of water to get a good dough.)
• Bring the dough together into a ball and wrap it or place it inside a sealed container before putting it in the fridge overnight.
• The next day, when you’re ready to make the crackers, preheat your oven to 180°C/375°F.
• Liberally coat your work surface and rolling pin with wholegrain rye flour.
• Uncover your dough and, using a knife, chop it in half.

• Gently work the first half into a ball, place it on your floured work surface and, using your palm, push it down into a circle.
• Sprinkle the top of the circle with wholegrain rye flour and roll the dough out. You are aiming for a thickness of 2 mm or under. Turn the dough often and liberally apply extra flour to avoid it sticking to your surface or your pin.
• When the dough has a thickness of 2 mm or under cut circles of cracker out from it and place them on a baking sheet/sheet pan.

• Gather up the offcuts, add them to the second half of the dough and repeat the process until you have used all of your dough.
• Bake the crackers act 180°C/375°F for approximately 12 minutes. Close to the end of the time, keep a careful eye on the crackers, removing the ones from the edge of the sheet pan if they start to look as if they will burn.
• Remove the crackers to a cooling rack and allow them to come to room temperature before enjoying.

FAQS

How should I store these rye sourdough crackers?

Because of their thinness, these crackers are dry. They will store well in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

How do you like to eat these sourdough rye crackers?

It’s hard to resist eating them straight from the cooling rack! Thankfully, making a batch of 30, there’s usually loads left over after this. They are great spread with butter, eaten with cream cheese or as a simple side to a salad. I love the flavour of avocado with rye, so will often top these crackers with sliced avocado or avocado mashed with olive oil.

What’s the best fat to use in these crackers?

I like to use lard, which I home render, for these crackers. You can easily substitute unsalted butter.

Can I use olive oil instead of lard/butter to make these rye sourdough crackers?

Yes, olive oil is possible. If you’d like to use it and it at the same time as a sourdough starter.

Do these crackers work with freshly-milled rye flour?

Yes, I make them with freshly-milled rye flour ground in my counter-top Mockmill. If you don’t have one of these, shop-bought wholegrain rye flour works well.

Can I use sourdough discard to make these crackers?

Yes, these crackers work with sourdough discard as well as fresh sourdough starter. Your starter does not need to be wholegrain rye – you could use a spelt, wheat or gluten-free starter with the crackers.

Do I need to/can I roll these crackers out using parchment/greaseproof paper?

Parchment/greaseproof paper can be used instead of the flour to create a surface upon which to roll out the dough. If you then struggle to move the crackers from this, you can lift the entire sheet of paper onto your baking sheet/tray. I prefer to use rye flour to stop the dough from sticking to my surface or pin as it is simpler.

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Russian Bread Kvass

Einkorn is the ancient grain of all ancient grains. It is the oldest cultivated variety of wheat and also, genetically, the simplest. It’s remained unchanged for over 10,000 years meaning that, when we cook with it in our modern kitchens, we really are bringing to life a grain of our ancestors.

The word einkorn comes from the German language, meaning single corn. It’s grains are small, helping me see why, when I lived in Italy, I knew this grain as ‘farro piccolo’.

I am lover of ancient grains – over 10 years of making sourdough and I’ve never baked with modern wheat. Having explored einkorn’s cousin, spelt, so deeply, I was really keen to metaphorically step back in time and play with the ‘original’ ancient grain!

So, when I was gifted a bag of einkorn berries by Grand Teton Ancient Grains, I couldn’t wait to use them.

Having previously developed a sourdough bread recipe with their emmer berries, I wanted to try something a bit different. My son loves chocolate, particularly in cookies, but, he can’t eat egg. This means that a lot of cookie recipes out there are a no-go for us. I knew I wanted to get him involved in the actual making – being in our kitchen is part of his home-school life – so chocolate cookies seemed like a great option. I’d keep it simple, avoid eggs and develop the recipe with him.

These crunchy wholegrain einkorn chocolate chip cookies came out of our third kitchen session. This recipe was the clear winner – the addition of milk kefir making the resulting treat delightfully airy and crisp.

Why wholegrain?

These einkorn chocolate chip cookies are made from wholegrain. A couple of years ago I invested in a Mockmill counter-top grain grinder and I freshly-grind whole berries in my own kitchen. This practice has transformed the flavour of my grain products, saved me money and is connecting me more deeply with my food.

A lot of the nutrition of grains is in the bran. If you use white flour, this has been stripped out. Store-bought wholegrain flour often sits on the shelf, losing vital nutrients. By freshly-grinding whole berries, you get as much nutrition and flavour as you can.

Let’s talk about the sugar

The sugar in these cookies is minimal. Having been away from processed food for years, my family find they don’t need (or want) the same levels of sweetness in their food. The sugar amount in this recipe is to their taste. If you’d like them a bit sweeter, feel free to increase the sugar.

…and, of course, the chocolate

The chips in these chocolate chip cookies are hand-chopped from a bar of 90% cocoa chocolate. We love the depth that this level of cocoa brings. If you prefer your chocolate sweeter (or want an overall more sweet cookie) choose a chocolate with a lower cocoa percentage.

Wholegrain Einkorn Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 8 cookies
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes

Ingredients:

145g wholegrain einkorn flour
1 tsp baking powder
60g salted butter
25g soft dark brown sugar
28g dark chocolate, cut into chips
20–25g milk kefir
For the topping:
½ tsp cinnamon
2 tsp dark brown sugar

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 180°C/375°F and prepare a baking tray/sheet, lining it with baking/parchment paper
• Measure the einkorn flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl and combine well.
• Cream together the butter and sugar.
• Put the creamed butter and sugar into the bowl with the einkorn and baking powder and, using your fingers, combine into a breadcrumb-style mix.
• Stir in the dark chocolate chips.
• Bring the mix together into a dough using the milk kefir to help bind. Start with the less milk kefir and, checking the consistency, add more if needed.
• When the dough is well combined, break off a small amount to make each cookie. I aim for each portion to be 30g.
• Squeeze this piece of dough a few times forming it into a ball. Place the ball onto your lined baking tray and flatten with the palm of your hand. Shape the dough into a 2 inch circle, pinching the outside edges together if they begin to crack.
• Repeat this process for the remaining dough, ending up with eight cookies.
• In a smaller bowl, for the topping, mix together the cinnamon and dark brown sugar.
• Sprinkle this topping generously over the cookies before placing them in the oven.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, watching towards the end of the cooking time to make sure the edges don’t burn.
• When the cookies look golden brown and feel hard on outside, remove them to a cooling rack.

FAQs

I don’t have a grinder, can I use store-bought wholegrain einkorn flour?

Yes these chocolate chip einkorn cookies will work just as well with store bought einkorn flour as they do with freshly-ground flour. Just remember to choose wholegrain, not white, flour.

How long do these cookies keep for?

These cookies will keep for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container

Where did you get your grain grinder?

I purchased my grain grinder from Mockmill. You can read about my experience here.

Can I use other grains for these chocolate chip cookies?

Yes! I have also made these with freshly-ground wholegrain spelt flour and I think they would also work really well with wholegrain emmer flour, which has a naturally sweet flavour.

Can I use different chocolate?

You do not have to use 90% cocoa chocolat}e for this recipe. Feel free to use a darker, or lighter, chocolate or even a flavoured one.

I don’t have milk kefir, can I use something else?

The milk kefir works with the baking powder to make these cookies light and airy. You can buy milk kefir in many stores, if you don’t make it yourself. If you can’t find milk kefir, another acidic, creamy option – like yoghurt – would work.

Thank you so much to Grand Teton Ancient Grains for sponsoring this post, allowing me to develop, test and write up this recipe.

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I am used to baking with ancient grains. I have cupboards full of non-wheat cereals: spelt, rye, buckwheat, millet, einkorn…I bake with them all every week. But, up until recently, I’d always been a bit daunted by baking with emmer. I’d heard that it was difficult to handle, that it made a dough that felt like wet sand and that it wouldn’t rise.

And so, when I was gifted a big bag of emmer by regenerative, organic farm Grand Teton Ancient Grains, I knew it was time to take on the challenge of creating a good sourdough emmer loaf.

At first, I tried the same techniques I use for spelt. I’m good with spelt (I’ve written a book on it). But my spelt recipes didn’t work with emmer. I could make a passable loaf using the same techniques I use with spelt, but the dough was so sticky and the rise I was able to obtain was not great.

I knew I had to try a different approach. After failed attempts with autolysing the flour (that is mixing flour and water and leaving it overnight to ‘settle’) and failed attempts at intensive kneading, I decided to turn to the techniques that I use to make sourdough rye bread.

Using these techniques, designed for the low-gluten rye grain, was a revelation with emmer. The loaves bloomed – the mixing was a dream and they rose well in the oven.

Tasting this sourdough loaf made with emmer was a revelation. The flavour is like nothing else; it is incredibly sweet and also fragrant and nutty. It leaves your mouth happy in a way that I’ve not experienced with other ancient grains.

As you might guess, this loaf is now regular part of my ancient grains sourdough baking!

If, in the past, you’ve tried and failed to make a sourdough loaf with emmer or you’ve read that it’s a difficult grain to handle in breadmaking, this recipe will dispel all your fears. It’s simple, it’s foolproof and it makes the most amazingly flavoured ancient grain sourdough.

First of all, let’s dive a little bit into emmer:

What is emmer?

Emmer is an ancient grain, that is, a cereal grain that has been used for thousands of years and comes to us, in the modern era, virtually unchanged genetically.

It is much lower in gluten than wheat, and, as an ancient grain, many people who have problems with wheat find they are able to digest emmer – especially when it’s made into sourdough – without problems.

For answers to more questions about emmer, including its similarities to and differences from other ancient grains, see my FAQ section below.

Is emmer good for sourdough?

Yes, emmer makes the most amazingly-flavoured sourdough. It is not, however, easily to get good results from emmer if you apply the same bread-making techniques that would be applied to wheat. A different process is needed. To get good results from emmer, I found it best to employ the same techniques I use when making rye bread – that is no kneading, a pre-ferment and a very high-hydration dough. When treated this way emmer makes a glorious sourdough bread with flavour that is unbeatable. My recipe will show you how!

The practical stuff:

This bread needs to be started the night before you wish to bake it. At that time, you create a pre-ferment along with soaking the sunflower seeds. Both of these are left on the counter overnight before mixing the main dough in the morning and baking it around lunchtime.

You will need a loaf pan and ideally it will have a lid. This bread comes out best for me in my 1kg/2lb Emile Henry ceramic loaf pan. If you don’t have a lid you can improvise one by tenting your pan with aluminium foil.

I make this loaf using emmer berries from ancientgrains.com, ground at home in my Mockmill. If you are in the UK you can source whole emmer grains from Hodmedods. If you don’t have a mill at home, using pre-ground emmer flour for work fine

Although this bread is 100% wholegrain emmer flour, it will work with sourdough starter made of any flour. I would not be without my rye sourdough starter (find advice on how to create one of these here).

Seeded Wholegrain Emmer Sourdough

Ingredients:

For the pre-ferment:

230g wholegrain emmer flour

230g water

45g sourdough starter (can be any grain)

For the main dough:

320g wholegrain emmer flour

9g salt

120g water

100g pre-soaked sunflower seeds

Method:

The night before you want to bake:

The sunflower seeds need to be soaked:

• Put them into a bowl and cover them with ample water, before leaving them on the counter overnight.

Make the pre-ferment:

• Combine the water and sourdough starter, mixing well. Stir this mixture into the flour.
• Clean the sides of the bowl and flatten the top of the mixture with wet spatula.
• Cover the bowl tightly with a plate or some clingfilm/plastic wrap.
• Leave this mix overnight in a warm place – when I created this loaf the daytime temperature of my house was 24C/68F; try to find a space that’s somewhere between 20C/68F and 24C/75F.

The morning of the bake:

• Retrieve the mixture that’s been pre-fermenting overnight. It should be visibly expanded and smell fermented The bowl should sound hollow when you knock the side of it and you may also see tiny pin holes on the top of the surface. If you’re unsure whether the mix is ready, you can dig a spoon into it – you should find honeycomb-style network of holes. If you are in any doubt that the mixture is ready, return it to your warm place and check it again in an hour or two.
• When you are ready to proceed, drain and rinse the sunflower seeds, before pouring them into the bowl that contains the pre-ferment.
• Add the water to this and stir until well combined.
• Stir the salt into the flour.
• Add the flour/salt to the liquidy pre-ferment, stirring until there is no loose flour and the mixture is well combined.
• Using a wet spatula, clean down the sides of the bowl before pressing down and smoothing the top of the dough.
• Cover the bowl tightly with a plate or clingfilm/plastic wrap.

• Leave in a warm place to ferment. In my kitchen, at 24C/75F, I leave this two hours.
• Prepare a loaf pan for the bread, greasing and flowering the inside.
• When the dough is ready (it will be bigger, smell active, and be airy) it’s time to get it into the pan. I find the best way to do this is to use a wet spatula and scoop portions of the dough out at a time, dropping them into my pan. Once I have all the dough, I wet my spatula again and shape/smooth the top of the loaf.
• Cover the loaf pan. If your pan doesn’t have a lid you can tent the pan with aluminium foil.
• Leave in a warm place to ferment. In my kitchen, 24C/75F, I leave this for an hour and a half.

• About 20 minutes before you judge the bread to be ready, preheat your oven to 210C/410C.
• When the loaf is ready (it will be bigger and may have tiny pin holes on the surface), ensure the lid is well fitting and place inside your preheated oven.
• Cook the bread at 210C/410F for 25 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 190C/375F. My loaf (cooked in a Emile Henry ceramic baker) takes a further 30 minutes at this temperature.
• The bread will be done when it registers 95C/200F at its centre with a probe thermometer. If you don’t have one of these, you can judge doneness based on the colour of the crust and the loaf sounding hollow when you tap it on the bottom.
• Remove the bread from its pan to a cooling rack and leave it to cool completely before cutting.

This seeded wholegrain emmer sourdough will keep at least four or five days in a bread bag or tin. If you are used to spelt loaves going stale after two or three days, you will be pleasantly surprised at the keeping qualities of emmer.

FAQs

What’s the difference between emmer and spelt?

Both emmer and spelt are ancient grains. They both have wheat-like qualities (as does their sister ancient grain, einkorn). Their similarities are shown by what the Italians call them. In Italian, einkorn, emmer and spelt are all part of the ‘farro’ family; einkorn is ‘farro monococco’, emmer is ‘farro dicocco’ and spelt is ‘farro spelta’. Emmer is genetically more complex than einkorn but simpler than simpler than spelt.

From the bakers point of view, emmer handles very differently to spelt. It stretches much more, but with its lower gluten content it is harder to use the methods of conventional wheat bread-making. This is why my recipe uses the techniques I would normally apply to very low-gluten doughs, such as those made with rye.

Does emmer contain gluten?

Yes, emmer does contain gluten. Therefore if you are coeliac you shouldn’t eat it. If, however, you have non-specific gluten intolerance you may find, as others do, that eating sourdough made with ancient grains such as emmer does not cause you problems.

What’s the difference between wheat and emmer?

Emmer is an ancient grain, a cereal that our ancestors have been using for thousands of years. Modern wheat that we buy in shops today is a product of an intensive selective breeding programme in the 1960s. This was designed to increase wheat yield, with no concern for flavour or health benefits. When you choose to bake with emmer you are choosing a grain that has sustained ancestors for many years and has not been messed with as has modern wheat.

You might also like:

5 Reasons to Bake With Ancient Grains

All About Spelt Sourdough (podcast episode)

How to Make Sourdough Rye Bread From Scratch

Thank you so much to Grand Teton Ancient Grains for sponsoring this post, allowing me to develop, test and write up this recipe.

Øllebrød is my new favourite breakfast! Who would’ve believed that such a complex-flavoured, adaptable, moreish dish could come from the combination of some stale rye bread and half a can of ale?! Pair it with a few flavourings (which I’ll share with you below) it’s like creating magic in your breakfast bowl.

What is Øllebrød?

Øllebrød is a oatmeal-style dish from Denmark that pairs previously-baked rye bread with beer to create a warm and hearty porridge. The earliest references to it are from the Middle Ages and, in its traditional form, it was a simple, frugal dish that provided nourishment from readily-available staples.

Why bread and beer?

Before industrialisation, communities depended on the crops that grew around them. Rye was a grain that worked well in Denmark, hence it was used to make bread. As firing an oven is quite an expense, this bread was often made in large batches and designed to be kept. As these breads aged, creative home cooks found ways to bring them to life, including this delicious porridge øllebrød.

 With bread-making comes beer-making – providing both was an unquestionable part of the household duties of women for centuries. And if we go back beyond a couple of hundred years, beer (or ale) was a day-to-day drink; given to the whole family at meals.

Bread and beer would have been part of our ancestors lives. Combining them into a daily dish just made sense.

A traditional version:

I first read about øllebrød in Alex Hely-Hutchinson’s book 26 Grains. Her version, like many of the øllebrød recipes you’ll find online, modernises the dish, leaving out the beer and adding sweeteners, fruit and spices. Whilst øllebrød does taste good this way, I love adding beer – it gives the dish a deep, rich flavour that is so distinctively different.

In this recipe, half of the liquid used is beer (I’ve used a stout as the flavours combine so well, but you could use any beer). To balance the flavours, I’ve also used a very small amount of sweetener. Taste your own øllebrød before it’s done and add more if you prefer it sweeter.

I make 100% wholegrain rye sourdough rye bread at home every week (my methods are in my course Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering the Basics) and use the last slices of the loaf to make øllebrød. Sometimes, though, I am so keen to have the porridge that I’ll use fresh bread, or even make a loaf especially. It’s not important whether your bread is old or new, the flavour will be good with both.

You could use shop-bought rye bread, but, as with all industrially-made foods, the flavour won’t be as special.

My favourite spices and flavourings are below, but there are so many options to chose from. Using my suggestions and your imagination, you can make the dish a different experience every time.

Øllebrød needs to be started the night before you want to eat it by soaking the bread in beer and water. I suggest doing this in the saucepan that you intend to cook it in, saving washing up!

Traditional Danish Øllebrød

Serves: 3

Time to soak: overnight

Time to cook: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

250g rye bread, sourdough is best

300g stout (or any beer/ale)

300g water

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp dark sugar

Spices/flavourings (I often change these up, but like this combination):

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp vanilla seeds

Zest of 1/3 of a lemon (c.1/2 tsp)

You could also experiment with orange zest/juice, caraway, cardamom, star anise and more!

Method:

The night before you want to eat øllebrød:

• Break the bread into chunks around 2 cms and place them in a saucepan.
• Pour over the beer and the water and stir to combine.
• Cover and leave on the counter overnight.

In the morning:

• Add the salt, sugar and spices to the bread mixture.
• Put the pan onto the stove on a medium-high heat, stirring frequently until you start to see it bubble.
• Turn the heat down to low and cook for 20 minutes, stirring regularly to avoid it sticking to the bottom of your pan.
• When the porridge is smooth, taste it for seasoning, adding more salt, sweetener and/or spices if you would like.
• Serve into bowls, add any desired toppings and eat straight away.

Serving suggestions:

• Øllebrød is great served simply with crushed nuts/seeds and some yogurt or cream (or my favourite, ghee!)
• If you’d like to, toasting nuts before topping øllebrød with them brings more flavour.
• Fresh, seasonal fruit is a nice option.
• For a special treat you could add honey or maple syrup; my son likes it if I infuse cardamom pods for 15 minutes in a 50/50 warmed honey/water solution and pour that over the top of his øllebrød.

FAQs

Can I use new rye bread?

Yes, I often use freshly-made rye bread to make øllebrød. I ends up being slightly more liquidy than if I’d used stale, dry bread, but you can extend the cooking period if you prefer it thicker.

Can I use standard rye?

Yes, you don’t have to use home-made sourdough rye. You can use yeasted rye or shop-bought rye bread. Bread with seeds in will work too, but your porridge will not be as smooth as a non-seeded loaf.

Can I use other breads?

Yes, I often make øllebrød with sourdough spelt bread. When I do this, I prefer to replace the beer with cider. The flavour is wonderful!

Do I have to use alcohol?

No! Øllebrød was traditionally made with beer, but you could soak the bread in water instead. A lot of modern recipes do this.

Can I use non-alcoholic beer?

Yes! Non alcoholic stout or beer works well for this recipes.

I don’t like stout, can I use another beer?

Yes, you can use any type of beer, ale, cider (even home-brewed ancestral ale!). The flavour will change based on the type of drink you use.

What other flavourings go well with øllebrød?

I have used lemon zest, cinnamon and vanilla in the recipe, but often use other spices. Caraway works very well with the deep rye flavours, as does star anise and cardamom. Lots of recipes online use orange juice and zest.

You might also like:

Russian Bread Kvass

Wholegrain Rye Sourdough Bread: Mastering the Basics (podcast episode)

How to Make Fermented Oats

And, if you want to get my go-to recipe for 100% wholegrain rye sourdough bread, plus tips for making sourdough rye at home, go here.

The healthy, tasty, gluten-free oat grain can be fermented into a myriad of dishes, including porridges, jellies, oat cakes, pancakes and ovened bakes. This free training will share how and give you recipes to create in your own kitchen!

The session begins by explaining what ancient grains are, and how they differ from modern wheat. I give examples of ancient grains and explain how they’ve been utilised in fermentation for many thousands of years.

I then get down to practicalities and walk you through the ways you can ferment ancient grains in your own kitchen. From porridges to flat breads, sourdough to bubbling drinks, there’s something here for every fermenter, whether you’ve just started or are an old hand!

In this session, you will learn:

• What an ancient grain is
• The different available ancient grains – those with gluten, low gluten and gluten-free
• How these grains differ from modern wheat
• The multiple ways you can ferment ancient grains; making porridges, polentas, drinks, pancakes, breads, pizzas and cakesHow these grains differ from modern wheat
• Of a unique Scottish, zero-waste ferment
• The detail on an ancient Eastern European fermented millet drink
• All about ancient grain sourdough
• Why you might be fine eating an ancient grain gluten-containing sourdough when standard wheat breads make you ill
• The differences you need to be aware of when making breads with ancient grains

Download the free PDF that accompanies this training by clicking here.

Does anyone who turns 50 actually feel 50?! I don’t know.

I don’t feel 50.

If you ask me how old I feel, I’d probably say mid 30s.

This was me, mid 30s, landing in the town in Tuscany that I called my home for five years:

It was a few years after this that I started learning about ancestral food. As you’ll know, if you’ve followed my story, food and I have had an ‘interesting’ relationship.

I celebrated my first ‘big’ birthday, my 18th, having never really known being anything other than substantially overweight. Food, specifically sugar-laced food, was my escape, a sensual experience that gave me the comfort, gratification and love that was lacking in my home life.

Between my 18th and the next big birthday, my 21st, I lost half my body weight. Looking back, losing it was the easy part. The following decades of learning to be Alison without the addiction; the turning towards many painful things in my life/psyche has been so much harder. Through addressing thorny habitual ways of being, bringing to life the things that I actually care about and connecting with my food, 50 looks a lot more peaceful than 18.

Engaging with ancestral foods and the lifestyle that supports them, as I did in my 30s, has taught me so many things. It feels like a worthwhile task to try to encapsulate some of those things to mark my 50th.

The world has not taught me these without a fight. And the ones that I refuse to learn, keep coming back and hitting me over the head again and again!

50 things an ancestral lifestyle has taught me:

Food heals. But there is so much more to health than food; you can get your diet ‘perfect’ and still be very unhealthy and it’s too easy to hide behind food changes and ignore other, unbalanced, parts of your life.

There are people who believe in the same things you do. No matter how isolated you feel, you are not alone. The incredible boon of information technology (is it the only one?!) is that we can find these people. I thought I was alone and yet I’ve found thousands of people through my work. Put it out there.

As much as technology can connect us, technology can ruin our lives. Most people are sleeping through this, unaware of the many, many ways they are being manipulated; how their life could be so much more alive if they began by looking up from their phone.

People who aren’t ready to change aren’t worth trying to persuade. Do not give your energy to them. Focus on what you’re doing and fine tune your instinct so you can notice those precious moments when others are receptive.

One size does not fit all, food-wise. And there are some things health-wise, that you just can’t get over. But, you can almost always make them somewhat better.

Self acceptance is the key to becoming softer, not harder, as you age.

Integrity – truly being in alignment with the choices you make – is one of the most worthwhile goals to aim at. When enacted, it feels so very good and also moves you forward in your life.

There is always another, deeper, layer than the one you’re working on now. And to uncover it will probably take longer than you think.

Patience can be learnt through actions.

Clarity is a pre-requisite to right forward movement. Question what you want again and again. If there’s any doubt that it feels right, circle back around and start over.

It’s not about all or nothing, in fact, all or nothing can be very harmful.

Saturated fat does not make you fat!

Most of the world still believes that saturated fat makes you fat.

Our biome is the master controller of our health.

It is very hard to change our biome.

No one knows more about your body than you. By all means take in information, but listen to yourself first.

In order to understand what your body is saying, take quiet time.

You can trust your instinct, but you won’t know what your instinct sounds like until you test out your inclinations, watch what happens and take time to reflect.

The thing that you ‘can’t do without’, food-wise, is so often the thing that is messing you up.

Changing something around in your diet, even if only for a couple of days, can be so revealing.

You can survive without the thing that you think you absolutely need.

Rest. Rest. Rest.

Following what brings you joy is the way to move forward in your life.

Cooking is not a frivolity. Cooking can be an incredibly deep way of connecting – to your digestion, your food, the soil, the community and your family.

Cooking is an art form.

The closer you get to your food, the more you value it and see the profound impact it has on all areas of your life and the world around you.

All actions have a consequence. Even ‘good’ actions.

Pushing harder is not the answer.

Restricting your choices in the kitchen will force you to be more creative.

Humans are founts of creativity – you have more than you will ever know.

Examine any resentment you hold. Over and over again.

If you want to remain active, choose a lifestyle where you have to be active.

Changes you make now will have an impact on you in 20 years time.

Having children at home is such a challenging lifestyle but brings immense benefits.

We can do things we never believed possible.

Lean on your past work. Remember challenges you’ve been through in the past and hard things you’ve done.

When we have clarity of direction and we put in effort, things shift. But 99% of the time it’s always slower than we want.

Calories are not what the world thinks they are.

There is so much going on outside the bubbles we live in…but sometimes it’s best to live in our bubbles.

Community is so, so important. Support can be the difference between giving up and keeping going. Plus it enlivens your life.

The creative process is incredibly challenging. But the payoff is magnificent.

Learning to accept, not fight failure is a key to being fulfilled. If we can pass this on to our children, we have done amazingly.

Screens are addictive and change your brain patterns.

I think I got 50, right?!

So, with all these lessons offered to me, where am I at? Here’s the flavour of the beginning of my 6th decade in the world:

What I’m working on:

The podcast, my blog, homeschooling, preparing three meals a day…these all fill my days and continue with their challenges. But my edge is my book; it’s offering up a chance for me to be moulded, to go deeper, to learn and to practise…

How can it really take this long?! There’s never enough time to write.

And I want it to be successful. But I know from experience that unless I act with integrity, I will suffer the consequences. So I question, again and again, yes, this action might promote the book, but how do I feel about it? When I hear a whisper of a doubt I try to stop and put plans to one side. The cycle of finding actions with integrity will start again.

What I still have to learn:

I need to remind myself of everything that I’ve written above.

Right now, I walk forward with goals that do not seem, to my rational mind, possible. I hold the belief that by honing my clarity and making effort towards my aims, things I would never imagine will move around me to support me.

And, as always for me it’s vital to remember that I don’t need to push.

Before I head off, don’t forget that you can support my work by sharing it with others, engaging with my courses, joining me at The Kitchen Table as a podcast supporter or leaving me a donation.

You might also like:

Letting Go of A Dream…I’m Leaving Italy – reflections upon leaving Italy after a decade of living there.

Come sit at my table and I’ll tell you a story – what I tell you if we sat together, with tea, and you asked about my life.

Alison in Pictures – a visual glimpse into my life.

My son, who is 11, likes experimenting in the kitchen. His combinations are often weird and wonderful. I try to let them be – isn’t trying, tasting and evaluating a huge part of the process?!

Because of my desire to allow him to play, we’ve eaten some weird dishes (chocolate and cheese, linseed and cabbage…the list goes on!).

But when it came to the idea of a spelt bread stuffed with olives and mozzarella, I was quite enthusiastic. I’m a lover of the ancient grain spelt. Add two delicious Mediterranean treats; what’s not to like?! My son had the idea of layering the dough in a cake tin. I never seen anyone doing this before I wasn’t sure whether it would work, but it does!

We decided to called this dish layered spelt focaccia with mozzarella and olives. It’s delicious, luxurious and interesting. When I initially included a picture of it in one of my newsletters, I received emails asking for the recipe! My son was proud and together we baked the bread again, this time noting all the weights and the process.

The bread uses instant yeast. That’s a departure from all of my previous bread recipes which have all been sourdough. 11-year-olds aren’t as patient as I have learnt to become, so he wanted to use yeast. In practice, you can make this focaccia using sourdough, check my notes at the end of the recipe for specific details.

Layered Spelt Focaccia with Mozzarella & Olives

Ingredients:

270g white spelt flour

4.5g salt

5g instant yeast

115g water

2 tablespoons olive oil

175g mozzarella

110g olives

1 teaspoon rosemary

Method:

• Measure the flour, salt and yeast into a mixing bowl.
• Combine the water (if your environment is cool, warm the water that you use to around 30°C/86°F) and olive oil in a jug.
• Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well, kneading till you have a soft dough.
• Use a little olive oil to grease the bowl, place the dough back in it, cover lightly and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (for me, at 28°C/82°F this took two hours).
• Remove the mozzarella from its packaging and dice it. Leave these pieces on a plate to rest and drain any liquid that comes from them.
• Depending on the size of your olives, chop them either in half or in quarters.
• Prepare a 7 1/2 inch/19 cm loose-bottomed sandwich cake tin by greasing and/or lining with parchment paper.
• Check your proofing dough. If it’s sufficiently risen, remove it from your warm space (if not, return it and keep checking).
• Flour your work surface and, removing the dough gently from its proofing bowl, divide it into four relatively equal portions.
• Stretch/push/roll the first of these four portions into a circle that will fit the bottom of your cake tin. When it’s the right size, place it at the bottom of the tin.

• Top this layer with a third of the olives, a quarter of the mozzarella and a sprinkle of the rosemary.
• Take the second quarter of dough, stretch/push/roll it as you did the first and place this over the top of the last one.
• Sprinkle this second layer with a third of the olives, a quarter of the mozzarella and a sprinkle of the rosemary.
• Repeat this process with the third quarter of the dough.

• Stretch/push/roll the last quarter of the dough and place it over the top. You should now have a quarter of the mozzarella to dot on the top. Add a little rosemary too.
• Cover the cake tin with a damp tea towel and move it back to your warm space for a final proof; at 28°C/82°F, I like to allow half an hour for this process.
• Whilst its proofing, preheat your oven to 180°C/355°F.
• When the layered focaccia is ready (it will have risen, not a great deal, but noticeably, in the tin), place it in the oven.
• Cook for 25-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
• Eat warm!

How to make this with sourdough:

If you’d like to make this a sourdough spelt focaccia, I recommend swapping the yeast out for 55g of active sourdough starter. It may take longer to ferment/proof.

You might also like:

Sourdough Spelt & Carrot Cake

Want to Freshly-Grind Grains for Bread?

How to Make a Sourdough Starter