by Ashley Lodato, Bluebird Grain Farms staff writer
photos courtesy of DinkelBrot Delight
Christina Welch’s passion has always been cooking. Born and raised in Carpinteria, CA, Welch was one of those kids who loved the culinary arts classes in high school, passing with flying colors. In fact, the teachers often roped her into leading the classes, she says. She didn’t bake much, though, because “baking involves chemistry, and I was no chemist,” she says.
After high school Welch lived in Germany for a couple of years before returning to the United States. One of the things she enjoyed most about Germany was going to local bakeries and eating what she calls “real breads.”
Although her career eventually took her down the floral design path, Welch never forgot about those German loaves. Then one night pre-pandemic, when Welch and her husband were hosting exchange students, a German student made some bread. “It was so good,” Welch says. “I tried to mimic their recipes, but it never came out like theirs—it didn’t taste the same.”
Eventually Welch learned that the student was using spelt flour. “I had never heard of it,” she says, “but I went out and got some and the recipe turned out great.”
In fact, it worked so well that Welch was tempted to keep tinkering, chemistry or no. “I was grinding my own wheat berries in my Vitamix, giving bread to my friends and family, telling everyone I knew ‘you should really try this.’” During the pandemic, Welch got a Cottage Food Permit, selling small batches of bread out of her home. Welch called her spelt loaves by their German name: “DinkelBrot”—“spelt” + “bread.”
One day Welch’s husband’s cousin in nearby Santa Barbara put in a request. “He asked me if I’d make my spelt loaf but with Einkorn flour,” Welch says. “I asked him, ‘What is that?’ but I eventually learned more about Einkorn and other ancient grains and then I realized, ‘This is the bread I want to start selling.’”
Things seemed to happen quickly from there. Welch’s brown-seeded Einkorn loaves were a big hit; they remain one of her best sellers. An area restaurant, The Food Liaison, took note and asked Welch if she wanted to sell bread from the restaurant. She did, and that was good for growth in both businesses.
Welch started out baking in her home kitchen. “I could do four loaves at a time, in 13” loaf pans, but it was taking forever,” she says. “I needed to be able to bake at a bigger scale. So my husband, who is an electrical contractor, fired up another oven in the garage for me, so now I can do eight loaves each hour.”
Once she was committed to Einkorn, Welch quickly discovered Bluebird Grain Farms, through a recommendation from her daughter-in-law. “I was buying Einkorn elsewhere, but it wasn’t as good as Bluebird’s Einkorn,” she says. “The Einkorn from Europe is nice, but it’s hard to get. So I ordered from everyone, did some baking tests, and Bluebird’s loaves came out the best, even compared to the European grains. When you look at a bag of Bluebird’s whole grains, you can just see how high-quality they are.”
From there, Welch learned about Mockmill, whose “grain revolution” includes making affordable, high-quality countertop flour mills. Now, Welch mills her own flour early in the morning on baking days, using fresh flour that retains its flavor and nutritional components.
Welch waxes enthusiastic about Einkorn (and especially about Bluebird’s trademarked Einka®, which is always organically grown by family farmers in Eastern Washington and 100% whole grain (not pearled) for maximum nutrient density. “Einkorn and these other ancient grains are for people who really care about what they put in their bodies,” Welch says. “People are starting to be more aware that in Europe almost everyone can eat gluten, because they’re milling all their own grains and getting that live culture. Over here, there is all this gluten intolerance because our wheat is so heavily processed.
“It’s important, I think, if you want to use Einkorn, to get it through Bluebird,” Welch continues. “Their staff will help you with figuring out your best storage solution. They’ll also talk to you about milling your own grain. After talking with them I started making this fantastic Einkorn stone ground banana bread. It has that stone ground taste and texture, but it doesn’t feel heavy. It’s dense but light.”
These days, working under the business name DinkelBrot Delight, Welch bakes once a week, as well as doing occasional pop-up markets and some special items for holidays. In addition to her popular brown-seeded Einkorn loaves using Bluebird’s Einka flour, Welch offers savory sourdoughs like jalapeño cheddar, kalamata, cheddar chive, and caraway; round loaves with raisins or chocolate (“slices of magic”); and sweet treats like cinnamon rolls, ginger cookies, and banana bread. She also makes fruit preserves, using pectin sourced from Europe–“theirs is so much better,” she says.
Welch’s work at Dinkelbrot Delight relies on a small team; lead baker Mimi, the “Swedish dynamo and culinary virtuoso,” and Welch’s husband Jeff, who manages sales and is the “artisan of relationships.” Together, the trio ensures that customers have access to the savory and sweet loaves they preorder, as well as the “symphony of flavors” offered by DinkelBrot’s cookies and cinnamon bun spirals. One might say they are on a roll.
Visit DinkelBrot Delight online to learn more or place orders, or find them on Instagram.
