Get your Freekeh

While this isn't necessarily about baking per se, it is about wheat.  I recently found a grain called Freekeh.  >Freekeh (sometimes spelled frikeh) or >farik is a cereal food made from green  that goes through a roasting process in its production. It is an ancient Arabian that is especially popular in Levantine, Arabian Peninsula, Palestinian and Egyptian cuisine, but also in North African and other neighboring cuisines. The wheat is harvested while the grains are yellow and the seeds are still soft; it is then piled and sun-dried. The piles are then carefully set on fire so only the straw and chaff burn and not the seeds. It is the high moisture content of the seeds that prevents them from burning. The now roasted wheat undergoes further thrashing and sun-drying to make the flavor, texture, and color uniform. It is this thrashing or rubbing process of the grains that gives this food its name, farīk> or “rubbed.” The seeds are now cracked into smaller pieces so they look like a green bulgur>.

I picked some up the our local store in the "ethnic" foods section, next to the couscous and tabbouleh. I was super easy to make, boiled just like rice, and has a great nutty flavour.  I mixed in some onions, peppers, and feta for a nice light, but filling salad.  It has a low GI, so your body doesn't have that nasty sugar crash and keeps you feeling full until your next meal.  

Another benefit is that it's non GMO and contains four times the fiber of brown rice; keeping the plumbing running smoothly.  

Here's great recipe for freekeh bread.  It does require soaking the freekeh overnight, but the grain gives it a nice taste.


250g Cracked Freekeh
750g Bread flour
10g Gluten flour
100g Butter
20g Salt
10g Sugar
20g Milk powder
60g Dry yeast
600ml Water