Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

Gluten-free products represent a $1.6 billion market in North America, and is steadily increasing. Poor quality, poor tasting substitutes make this diet difficult to maintain. This has led the food industry to search for alternatives in low-gluten and gluten-free grains, including natural heritage grains such as einkorn. The high cost of heritage grain flours has given rise to a new ""mill your own flour"" movement among bakeries. Roger Rivest Marketing Ltd. (RRML), an organic grain marketing company, has identified a niche in offering dehulled einkorn, a heritage grain (not hybridized nor genetically modified, and anecdotally more digestible by individuals with gluten intolerance) paired with a developed and tested bread recipe as a complete ""mill in-house flour"" package to sell directly to bakeries. RRML will partner with a student and faculty from Fanshawe College's Culinary Arts program to explore einkorn processing and the development and analysis of an einkorn sourdough bread recipe. Under the direction of Principal Investigator, Josie Pontarelli, the student will investigate the einkorn's dehulling rate and flour quality, as well as develop and compare the nutritional bioavailability and shelf life of three fermented and three non-fermented bread recipes each made with a different grain: einkorn, conventional wheat and spelt. Results from this study assist RRML in developing a new product, contribute knowledge and experience at Fanshawe College's Culinary Arts Program, as well as raise public awareness of rare grain crops that have significant historical and nutritional importance for Canada.