New London native Carla Bartolucci experienced the tremendous health benefits of einkorn — a grain that can be traced back 12,000 years — about eight years ago, and her discovery has had a huge impact on both her family and career.

Bartolucci graduated from Connecticut College in 1988 and spent her junior year at the University of Bologna in Italy, where she fell in love with the country, the food and her future husband, Rodolfo. The couple and their two daughters now divide their time between Mystic and Modena, Italy.

Although she and Rodolfo had worked in the health food industry for 20 years — as a distributor of Bionaturae, a brand of Italian-made organic foods — Bartolucci was at her wit’s end looking for an alternative grain for their young daughter Giulia, whose gluten sensitivity caused increasingly serious mood swings, asthma and digestive problems.

When Bartolucci came across einkorn in Northern Italy — where Italian researchers were studying it for more than a decade — it was practically extinct, grown only on a few hundred acres worldwide.

Astonished by her daughter’s health transformation, it became Bartolucci’s mission to spread the word about this relatively unknown ancient grain to others suffering from gluten sensitivity.

Bartolucci and her husband began working with a group of farmers and growing einkorn near their home in Italy in 2009. They are now the largest growers of einkorn in the world. They launched Jovial Foods, a company devoted to einkorn and gluten-free products in Italy, and then opened the headquarters for nationally distributed products in North Franklin. They recently purchased the former Randall’s Ordinary property in North Stonington, where they plan to build their new headquarters by spring.

Meanwhile, Bartolucci ‘s first cookbook, “Einkorn: Recipes for Nature’s Original Wheat,” has just been published. She will give a tasting and talk at Bank Square Books in Mystic on Aug. 11.

The book includes 100 recipes accompanied by 85 color photographs. Recipes include a large variety of sourdough and yeasted breads; flavorful main dishes such as spinach lasagna Bolognese and chicken pot pie with roasted root vegetables; lots of delicious desserts ranging from olive oil and wine cookies to apricot custard tartlets; as well as soups, salads and “street food.”

In the midst of all that, Bartolucci found some time recently to talk about einkorn, her new cookbook and her Connecticut-Italy connections.

Q. What are some of your fondest memories of growing up in New London that inspired you to get on this healthy food path?

A. My parents were children of Italian immigrants. We lived in a little Italian community on Shaw Street — my father built a home near the Ocean Beach area. He had a little lobster boat and loved fishing and clamming. It was all part of my childhood. We’d have relatives over and had lots of fish dinners. Growing up around that food culture was definitely the foundation for what I went on to do in my professional life.

Q. Years prior to having children — before you even knew you would have a daughter with a gluten intolerance — you and your husband had switched to eating ancient types of wheat, mostly spelt. Why?

A. Both of my parents passed away with cancer. It started a mechanism in me that I really wanted to watch what I eat. There was a growing amount of sentiment that regular wheat was bothering a lot of people. I thought, why risk that with small children? Both my husband and I have food allergies and had more likelihood to have children with food allergies.

So, we basically said we’d eat spelt. The alternative to wheat at the time, it seemed easier to digest. I thought we were safe from wheat, so when Giulia started to have food allergies, we never considered it to be wheat.

Q. Why has einkorn remained more nutritious than modern forms of wheat?

A. It doesn’t yield as much, and when you make a plant yield more it loses nutrients. It has more protein and nutrition because it isn’t stretched so far to produce. A lot of people have gone gluten free and are discovering einkorn — that it’s great to bake with, and tastes good, and has 30 percent more protein than any other wheat.

Q. Can you comment on the changes in your daughter’s health — physical and emotional — when she stopped eating any wheat besides einkorn?

A. I think gluten and depression and behavioral problems in children are being correlated more these days. Although my daughter is well behaved and a great kid, she had these moments when she was characteristically unbearable. She seems happier all the time now, like a kid should be. I didn’t really believe it would make a big difference when we started to feed her the einkorn. I was shocked. Her symptoms would come right back when she ate wheat. She’d turn into a different person. It was very clear-cut, like a new child was born. She (grew) thick curly hair, didn’t cough anymore, no asthma, the dark circles under her eyes disappeared, and she never had a cavity again. I was working in the organic food industry for 20 years and she was the unhealthiest child in school. Einkorn was the best gift I could have ever given my child.

Q. Why should people that aren’t gluten sensitive be interested in this cookbook, making these recipes with einkorn instead of other flour?

A. I think there’s a return to ancient grains because they’re more nutritious and I also think putting variety in your diet — adding a new grain that’s particularly high in protein — protects you from a lot of health issues.

Q. Can you tell me about your new facility in North Stonington?

A. We’ll have cooking classes and culinary getaways (like) we’re already doing in Italy. We’ll be planting a field of einkorn and an heirloom fruit orchard. We might do a farmer’s market.

The property has historic significance, which ties in really well with the mission we have with einkorn. I like to say the future is our past … I think we can learn a lot from how things were done a long time ago.

“Einkorn: Recipes for Nature’s Original Wheat” (Clarkson Potter/Publishers) by Carla Bartolucci is $25, softcover.

Einkorn flour can be purchased at Fiddleheads natural food co-op in New London or ordered online at www.jovialfoods.com.

SAVORY ANTIPASTO QUICK BREAD

This is a quick bread with antipasto flavors tucked inside — olives, salami, ham and specialty cheeses — and can be served any time of the day. Once you have the recipe down, you can change the antipasto ingredients for new flavor combinations. The batter will be thicker than a normal quick bread, but it will keep the savory ingredients suspended in the dough. Expect this bread to darken considerably on top during baking.

Makes 1 loaf

2 cups all-purpose einkorn flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/3 cup grated pecorino Romano cheese

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

2 large eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing pan

2 tablespoons dry white wine

1 cup diced firm cheese, such as Manchego, Swiss, or Colby

1/2 cup diced salami or mortadella

1/2 cup diced ham or turkey

1/2 cup pitted and sliced green olives

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.

In large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in pecorino cheese and oregano.

In medium bowl, whisk eggs until foamy. Whisk in milk, oil and wine until combined.

Fold egg mixture into flour mixture, and use a spatula to mix until the flour is completely absorbed. Add diced cheese, meats and olives, mixing them into the batter evenly with a fork. Transfer batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake the bread 40 to 45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean in center. Let the bread cool in pan for 15 minutes, then un-mold and let cool completely on a rack before slicing.

If you go

What: Tasting and book signing with Carla Bartolucci, author of “Einkorn: Recipes for Nature’s Original Wheat.” The event is open to the public. Everyone who purchases a book that night will receive a free 2-pound bag of einkorn flour.

Where: Bank Square Books, 53 W. Main St., Mystic

When: Tuesday, Aug. 11, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Info: Call the bookstore at (860) 536-3795 or visit www.banksquarebooks.com.