Organic Obsidian Emmer Flour : An Exclusively Weatherbury Grain
Stone-milled to order at Weatherbury Farm from Organic Obsidian Black Winter Emmer which is grown on the farm.
An ancient grain for modern times. Its weak gluten makes emmer easier to digest.
Organic Obsidian Emmer Flour has a sweet nutty full-bodied flavor.
Use in almost any dish from breads & rolls to cookies & cakes to pancakes & pasta.
Organic Whole Obsidian Emmer Flour
Milled to order from Organic Obsidian Emmer grown at Weatherbury Farm.
Ground in one pass and sifted through a very coarse sieve so that any very large pieces of bran and hulls remaining are removed (most of the hulls are removed in a separate dehulling operation). Hearty Nutty Flavor.
Contains the minerals, vitamins, enzymes, amino acids, fiber and oils in the same proportions as they are found in the grain.
This flour is not bleached.
2lbs* ($8.75 ); 5lbs* ($17.69); 25lbs ($76.11); 50lbs** ($146.37)
Organic Sifted Obsidian Emmer Flour
Milled to order from Organic Obsidian Emmer in multiple passes through a fine sieve. Bran is removed; however the germ remains.
Approximately 85% extraction. Contains the minerals, vitamins, enzymes, amino acids, fiber and oils in the same proportions as they are found in the grain.
Nutritious and Delicious. This flour is not bleached.
2lbs* ($15.85 ); 5lbs* ($27.25); 25lbs ($105.80); 50lbs** ($203.45)
* 2 and 5 pound bags are packaged in re-sealable bags.
** 50 pound bags cannot be shipped.
One pound of flour equals approximately 3 cups of flour.
Harvesting Obsidian Black Emmer at Weatherbury Farm
Emmer is an ancient grain. Grown at Weatherbury Farm, which is the first farm to offer complete traceability back to the field where it was grown.
Weatherbury Farm’s Emmer Tracker traces the Obsidian Emmer grain that is milled into flour back to the field where it was grown, here at Weatherbury Farm.
Weatherbury Farm is one of a handful of farms that produces local flours (flour milled from grains grown on the farm). But we take it a step further and provide, through our grain tracker, complete traceability — information & pictures of how, when, and where the grain was grown.
So you’ve baked emmer muffins (or another of the yummy baked goods possible with Weatherbury’s emmer flour and say to the folks at the table, as you pull out your cell phone and click on Weatherbury’s Emmer Tracker “Emmer is the one of the world’s oldest grains and it is grown at Weatherbury Farm. Take a look at the grain in the field.”
Using Weatherbury Organic Obsidian Emmer Flour
Enjoying emmer pasta
Use Emmer Flour in almost any dish from breads and rolls to cookies & cakes to pancakes & pasta. It has a sweet flavor and compelling aroma.
Our “Roman Legion Pancake” recipe is on the whole emmer flour package back.
Both the terroir of the soil and the fact that our emmer flour is stone-milled give it its wonderful flavor.
How to substitute Weatherbury Emmer Flour in your own recipes
For quick unleavened breads (like banana), pancakes, cookies and muffins, you can use emmer flour 100% as the recipe states. Sometimes, however, the amount of water may need to be reduced by 15 – 33% .
Up to 20% of all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour in a yeasted recipe can be replaced by Weatherbury’s Emmer Flour without making changes to the recipe. Plan to use less water. Don’t use more flour as it may change the flavor. Yeasted products baked with emmer flour do not rise as high as those that baked with wheat flour (but they sure do taste great). Expect the bread to rise only about 40-50%. Don’t let the bread overproof . The crumb will also be a bit denser than with a wheat bread.
Emmer flour is often blended with spelt flour as spelt flour helps increase dough stability.
Whole and Sifted Organic Emmer Flour
Knead the dough gently and slowly. Use shorter proofing times — often it is best to bake emmer bread in a loaf pan.
When you use Weatherbury Organic Obsidian Emmer Flour in baked goods, you not only enhance the taste but make them more nourishing.
Benefits of Emmer Flour
Weatherbury Farm mills emmer flour from Black Obsidian Winter Emmer, which was bulked at Weatherbury Farm.
Emmer contains only 28 chromosomes while modern wheat contains 42.
Emmer is high in protein — 1/2 cup contains between 26 and 40% of the daily fiber requirements. And as a high protein, low gluten grain emmer may be easier to digest. As Emmer is easier to digest, it may help with your body’s metabolism and weight control. In addition to fiber and protein, it contains high levels of minerals (copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, zinc, iron & selenium), vitamins B (includingB1, B2 niacin, panthothenic acid and B6) & vitamin E, anti-oxidants (especially lignans) and essential fatty acids that can help keep you healthy. Additionally, it has a low glycemic index.
And best of all, it tastes great.
Storing Emmer Flour
There are no preservatives in our flour. Please refrigerate. If you will not be using the flour immediately, please store in the freezer especially in warm weather.
More Information about Emmer Flour
Emmer in Tiberias, Israel, located about 5 miles from Kinneret, the location of the Ohalo II archeological dig.
History of Emmer
Wild emmer has been carbon dated back to 17000BC at Ohalo II (an archaeological site on the sea of Galilee in Israel). Emmer is one the “founder crops,” being one of the first cereals to be domesticated. Evidence that it was cultivated for over 7000 years was found near Damascus.
Emmer was important in ancient Egypt where it was used to make bread and beer. As bread and beer were the staples of life, growing emmer (as well as the barley used in beer making) was at the center of the entire agricultural economy of Egypt.
During the new kingdom (c. 1570- c. 1069 BC) it was also used to pay wages and taxes. Additionally, for Egyptians, emmer was part of religious ceremonies. Representations of growing, harvesting and baking with emmer can be seen in Egyptian temples and tombs.
Emmer is thought to be the wheat of the bible. In Hebrew, the word for emmer and spelt is the same; however, spelt was not grown in ancient Israel.
And later, Romans brought emmer home after invading Egypt in 47BC. Called the “Pharaoh’s Wheat” by Julius Caesar, emmer became the standard daily ration of the Roman legion.
Horus (right) oversees plowing. The Temple of Horus at Edfu, Egypt.
Emmer is the predecessor of Durum Wheat.
Today, wild emmer is still seen growing in the fertile crescent.
The use of emmer has recently enjoyed a resurgence. The emmer grain is also known as farro medio and in the US, considered the farro of choice. Farro medio is most often pearled. Currently, Nigel is working on the development of a pearling machine. The term “farro” comes from “Pharaoh’s Wheat.”
Emmer is one of the three ancient grains. (Weatherbury Farm also grows the other two, spelt and einkorn.)
Emmer at Agritechnica 2011
History of Obsidian Black Winter Emmer
At Weatherbury Farm, we grow Obsidian Black Winter Emmer. The emmer is a variety that we got 12 seeds of at Agritechnica in Germany in 2011. We started bulking the seed in 2012, by planting increasingly larger test plots. By 2018 we had a 1/3 of an acre planted. That was a unfortunately a very wet year and we lost the whole crop.
In the fall of 2020, we planted a large plot to start bulking our seed back up again. On October 14, 2021 we planted .248ha/.613ac of the Obisdian Black Winter Emmer and harvested it on July 24 2022.
Emmer — the grain
Emmer (Triticum dicoccum) has survived for 17,000 years. It’s hard outer hull (that protects it from the weather and from insects in storage) has helped emmer last long in its desert areas of origin.
Wheat hulls are removed during harvest. Emmer’s hulls are not.
Like Einkorn, the emmer hull is surrounded by tiny “hairs”. So, before the emmer can even be cleaned, the “hairs” must be removed by a debearder. After the emmer is debearded it is cleaned but the hull still needs to be removed before it can be milled. Luckily for Weatherbury Farm, Farmer Nigel has built a dehuller to do this job.
Emmer, like the other ancient wheats of einkorn and spelt does have gluten. The two parts of gluten — gliadin, which gives dough stretchiness and glutentin, which provides elasticity and structure are in balance in wheat. However, emmer has a high gliadin to glutentin ratio.
Some people who have a wheat allergy or gluten sensitivity report that baked goods made from emmer flour is easier to digest. However, people with gluten allergies, gluten intolerance or celiac disease should not use it.
Debearding Emmer
Emmer After Debearding
Dehulling Emmer (using dehuller built by Farmer Nigel)
Emmer after dehulling (ready for milling)
Other emmer products available from Weatherbury Farm:
