It has never been a better time to be in artisan baking. We are living in a time of heirloom wheat rediscovery and renewed appreciation for ancient grains. Not only are more heirloom wheats coming back into style, but there is also a great range of ancient grains available—and now in more formats. Bakers are beginning to have a much greater understanding of how combining several grains and different grain formats can achieve different results and exceptional functionality in baking.
One of the great things about artisan bread and pastry baking is that bakers work in smaller batches and can experiment with more changeovers, more varied fermentation times and more inclusions. This is where ancient grains can add so much to the baker’s toolbox. Each grain brings a different texture, granular size, flavor and color to baked products, from boules to scones and rustic loaves. I love to play around with how the flavor notes in teff might complement different herbs and spices, such as sage, in a dough, finished with toasted pumpkin seeds on top. Many grains have more than one color, like the purple and black barleys, and each one complements herbs, nuts, cheese, spices and sweeteners slightly differently. Rye is really popular right now and is typically paired with caraway seeds—but it’s also great with dill, onion and fennel.