Mozes brood

Spelt flour with emmer and quinoa

The history of emmer is a special one, as it is said to be the wheat Moses and the Israelites carried with them in their flight from Egypt.

Here are some interesting facts about this ancient grain, which has been a main component in our ancestor’s kitchens thousands of years ago.

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While baking as we know it did not exist in very early times, today this ancient grain is used for baking bread and in the preparation of pastries, muesli, and other processed nutrition (in the form of flakes, for example). Although emmer is related to the wheat we use for bread, its flour cannot be used exactly like traditional wheat flour. This is due to the low baking capacity of this particular cereal.

Botanically, emmer is closely related to the wheat we know today.

Due to its long history, it is widely recognized as the original form of wheat. Einkorn, spelt, and woodland-rye fall under this category as well. These are the predecessors of our modern wheat and rye.

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When hunters and gatherers settled down to work on the land, emmer was one of the first plants they cultivated.

Purposeful cross-breeding of this crop was not necessary because nature took care of this on her own. Our ancestors consumed emmer especially in the form of porridge. We have to thank them for incorporating emmer into the diet of the human species.