Why Kamut? by Elizabeth Alsobrooks

With an obvious fascination for all things Egyptian (whether real or fantasy, as in my stories), it’s no wonder that I would eventually discover Kamut, an ancient wheat grain with some fantasy legends of its own.

When it found its way to America, the wheat was known as King Tut’s Wheat. Why? A fantasy legend of its origins existed. It was rumored that a small amount of the grain was recovered, still viable, within King Tut’s tomb. This is an unconfirmed story of course, but a fun one. Its origins, however, do date back thousands of years to Mesopotamia and Egypt. Kamut comes from the Egyptian word khamut, meaning the soul of the earth.

Kamut is a brand name for Khorasan wheat. Khorasan wheat is so named because it comes from the Iranian province of Khorasan where it was first known to grow.  All Khorasan wheat is Khorasan, but only certified organic Khorasan that has had no hybridization or genetic modifications can bear the trademark Kamut.

It came to America via Earl Dedman, who was given some of these large grains (several times larger than most modern wheat grains) and sent them to his father, a farmer in Montana. His father cultivated it for a few years and ended up with several bushels.  Like other ancient grains, such as Einkorn, Kamut has not been hybridized to form a weak husk that easily falls away during harvesting, or multiple grains on each stalk, so the commercial production is more costly and less profitable.

However, as modern consumers learn more about food processing, they are turning toward healthier alternatives even if they must pay more to get them. Current wheat processing for most store-bought flour results in wheat with the bran and germ removed. Commercial flour today is made to last, not to nourish. The wheat berry, by nature, has three parts: the bran, the germ, and the endosperm.

But in modern roller milling, most of that gets stripped away. The bran and germ, where nearly all the nutrition lives, are removed so the flour doesn’t spoil. What’s left is the starchy endosperm, milled into a fine powder that can sit on a store shelf for an incredibly long time, even longer when they add chemicals, most of which are toxic to the human body. If they bleach it, it has even more chemicals, even if grown organically, so hopefully not coated in pesticide poisons.

This over-processing not only removes most of the essential fiber, vitamins and minerals, it also removes some important probiotics that help the intestines digest the grain, allowing the body to better absorb the vitamins and minerals. Modern flour can lead to rapid metabolic spikes and digestive problems. This is the main reason diabetics must watch their flour intake—or perhaps why there is such a growing population of diabetics. When they say flour turns into sugar and doesn’t keep you full, it’s because of this destruction of natural grain composition. When it says ‘enriched’ that doesn’t mean you’re getting better flour products, it means they have removed all the natural nutrition and whatever artificial vitamins and minerals they put back in to ‘enrich’ the flour is a poor substitute for what nature intended.

Those who have gluten sensitivity (though not Celiac disease), often find they have no such problems with whole grain bread, especially ancient grains that have not been genetically altered.

Kamut is one of the healthiest choices. It contains more protein than most other grains: 9.8 grams per cup. As a whole grain, it’s high in fiber: 7.4 grams per cup. It’s loaded with magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, manganese and iron. It’s also rich in vitamin B, such as thiamin, niacin and B6. It even has copper, selenium and potassium. It contains amino acids, the building blocks of proteins making it a valuable addition to vegetarian diets where getting enough protein is sometimes a challenge.

If those aren’t enough reasons to adopt Kamut, there’s also the fantastic taste. It has a nutty, buttery rich flavor, unlike the vanilla boredom of modern flour, with a chewy texture. It makes for wonderful bread, and if you add sourdough starter to your recipe, you’ll discover what ancient bakers knew, how to use but may not have known how it worked, fermentation with wild yeast. Sometimes it really does take longer to create a better product.    

Even without knowing that scientists believe one of the things that make the thousands of people over 100 years old in the blue zone of Hokkaido, Japan live to such a ripe old age is the daily ingestion of fermented foods, you should understand why sourdough is healthier than other bread. You should understand this even before you consider that it takes 2 days to make sourdough bread and at least 7 days to make most sourdough starters (though once you have it, you have it forever, some folks claiming their starter is over 100 years old, passed down from one generation to another).

For one thing, the fermentation process breaks down phytic acid and releases minerals from the flour, making them easier for the body to absorb. Sourdough is a good source of prebiotics, that feed the healthy bacteria of the gut, essential for digestion, immunity and mental health. The fermentation process also lowers the glycemic index, meaning sugars are released more slowly into the bloodstream, helping prevent spikes in blood sugar levels. Good news for diabetics and those with insulin resistance.

Let’s not forget shelf life either. The acidity and organic acids in sourdough inhibit mold growth, so it can be stored longer without preservatives. Sourdough being easier to digest is another added benefit for those with gluten sensitivities.

So now that I have highlighted the benefits of sourdough ancient grain bread, let me add one final tidbit. Flour, all flour, begins to lose nutrients the moment the berry is ground. To get the absolute most of your ancient grain, you can mill it on demand. Ancient grains store near forever, so you can mill them as you need to use them. I mill exactly how much I need to create a recipe.

If you are interested in home milling your flour or purchasing ancient grains already milled on demand by reputable organic producers or mills, you have only to go to YouTube where you will discover that ancient grains and home milling isn’t just a trend, it’s a movement. Now get moving toward a healthier lifestyle!