Have you ever asked yourself, “What are ancient grains?” We’re diving deep into the world of ancient grains like einkorn, emmer, and spelt, and discussing how regenerative agriculture practices not only rebuild soil health but also produce more nutrient-dense crops, leading to better health for your family and the planet.
In this podcast episode, Josh sits down with Jade Koyle of Grand Teton Ancient Grains, who explains why ancient grains haven’t been hybridized or altered like modern wheat, and how their original structure makes them easier to digest and more nourishing.
Whether you’re a homesteader, a baker, or simply want to make healthier choices in your kitchen, this conversation is packed with insight and practical takeaways. From there, check out our blog post on baking with freshly milled flour and home flour milling.
About Jade Koyle
Jade Koyle is President at Grand Teton Ancient Grains, a family-owned and operated farm and mill committed to restoring ancient grains to the family dinner table.
Jade’s mission is to restore the finest organically grown ancient foods from around the world into our modern lifestyles. One of those ancient foods is einkorn, the most primitive wheat available on earth. Einkorn contains a different type of gluten than modern wheat.
As sixth-generation farmers, Jade and his family cultivate their farmland using proven organic and biological methods that build up the soil and pack nutrition into the foods they grow.
What Are Ancient Grains?
Ancient grains are pretty different than the modern grain we’re used to today. They’re a far cry from our modern-day oats, wheat and barley, which have been bred for specific traits.
Ancient grains have remained true to form for centuries without hybridization or genetic modification. They’re more nutritious (and some say more flavorful) than their modern counterparts.
Ancient grains include varieties such as barley, einkorn, emmer, millet, oats, sorghum, spelt and teff. They may also include seeds (called pseudocereals, which are eaten like grain) such as amaranth, buckwheat, chia and quinoa.
Which Ancient Grain is the Most Popular?
One of the most popular ancient grains is einkorn. 100% whole wheat einkorn flour or even all-purpose einkorn flour can be ordered from many places online (and sometimes even found in your local grocery store).
It’s popular for good reason! The flavor is wonderful and the fact that many people with gluten sensitivities can tolerate this flour is huge (more on this below).
We’ve used einkorn to make our whole wheat biscuit recipe and they’re delicious (especially when topped with homemade butter).
What’s Unique About Einkorn?
The difference between einkorn and modern wheat is very interesting. Modern wheat (Triticum aestivum) has a different type of gluten than einkorn (or other ancient wheat varieties) and contains six sets of chromosomes with three subgenomes: A, B, and D.
In comparison, einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum) has an AA genome and is one of the oldest domesticated wheat species.
Another unique difference between einkorn wheat and modern-day wheat is that einkorn only contains 14 chromosomes, whereas modern wheat contains 42 chromosomes.
We’ve done our fair share of gluten-free baking, from our heavenly gluten-free cinnamon rolls and our gluten-free pumpkin bread to our gluten-free bread recipe.
Practices of a Regenerative Grain Farm
Some of the core practices that Jade and his team follow at Grand Teton Ancient Grains are to have regenerative farming practices as their aim. When something is your aim, that means you’re constantly trying to make adjustments to meet that goal.
Jade admits he doesn’t think he’ll ever obtain the perfect regenerative farming practices, but that he’ll constantly be trying to make improvements and adjustments.
Some of the methods Grand Teton Ancient Grains uses are:
- Crop Rotation: Grand Teton uses crop rotation to maintain soil health, which means they’re rotating where various crops are grown each season. They combine this with intercropping to give back to the soil that which the crops use up to maintain viable soil that will continue to produce healthy crops year after year.
- Intercropping: While there will always be a main crop grown for its harvest (such as einkorn, spelt or Khorasan), Grand Teton will intercrop with another plant, such as clover, alfalfa or peas.
- Cover Crop: Grand Teton has just started experimenting with planting a cover crop after the final crop is harvested, but before the first frost hits. Planting a cover crop is a great way to improve soil, prevent blowoff, and keep weeds down naturally.
- Compost: Because they don’t have the resources to add compost to their entire 16,000 acres, they use a lot of compost tea and green manure, which is a fertilizer consisting of growing plants that are plowed back into the soil.
Ancient Grains & Soil Health
While many ancient grains don’t require a lot of nutrients for growth, Grand Teton Ancient Grains intercrops with other crops that will feed soil fertility with each growing season.
Jade shares that they always focus on growing a main crop (einkorn, spelt, Khorasan, etc.), but a companion crop (clover, alfalfa, peas, etc.) will be mixed into that crop to give back nutrients that the main crop depletes.
We do this on a smaller scale with companion planting and crop rotation in the garden to improve soil health.
Ancient Grains & Gut Health
As homesteaders, we want to grow and produce our food in a regenerative manner. By doing so, we also benefit from healthier, often more nutrient-dense food.
When considering whether to make the switch to ancient grains, many find their way to them because of gluten sensitivities. While gluten sensitivity is a complex issue, some portions of the population can eat einkorn (or other ancient grains) without issue.
Jade shares that this is because many people are sensitive to the D genome found in modern wheat. Since einkorn doesn’t include this genome, those with sensitivities to modern wheat can oftentimes tolerate einkorn.
It’s similar to those with dairy allergies being able to drink A2/A2 milk because it lacks the A1 beta-casein protein.
Getting Started with Ancient Grains
For folks who want to get started baking or cooking with ancient grains at home, consider purchasing a small bag of whole ancient grains (or a bag of freshly milled ancient grains) from Grand Teton.
Learn how to mill whole grain and then start using it in recipes. Don’t feel like you need to start by baking a loaf of bread, try making homemade pancakes or muffins. Then, before jumping into homemade sourdough bread, try a basic homemade sandwich bread that uses yeast as the leavening agent.
Learning how the flour reacts in easier recipes will give you a big head start when moving into making homemade bread.
Where to Find Grand Teton Ancient Grains
If you’d like to purchase from Grand Teton Ancient Grains, they’ve been generous enough to give our readers a coupon code for the month of July, 2025. Click the link and use coupon code “HOMESTEADINGFAMILY” at checkout for 10% off your order.
