Maybe try it and see?

Perhaps it gets stuck together and/or scorches?

Here's one recipe from mathastewart.com that doesn't call for that:

https://www.marthastewart.com/1050680/creamy-farro-pilaf-wild-mushrooms

I did see another recipe for using it in a salad that called for it to be soaked first, then cooked in a large amount of water, then drained and rinsed.

Some folks like to use the pasta method. Some folks use it for cooking rice or other grains sometimes too. Just different options on how to cook the stuff.

Aren't nutrients lost in the water you pour off?

Of course, but it's not like you're going to lose all nutritive value.

And there might be something else 'lost' by pouring off the water that you may not want so much.

I reuse soaking and rinsing water for plants.

But we don't do that for rice.

I realize you may not, but some people do. Some people simmer pasta in very little water sometimes. Some boil lentils, others simmer. Sometimes different dishes might call for different methods of preperation. Some like to use pressure cookers and slow cookers too.

I cook pasta in very little water if I'm going to use the starchy water for something like carbonara.

I always rinse rice before cooking it.

I do too.

I've always appreciated recipes that give you the 'why'. Why is this cooking method different than other grains?

MarcellaHazan cookbook recipes are so well written you don't need a photograph. JaquesPepin is so good in his videos and almost always gives the reason for doing things a certain way. If Kenji wrote that recipe, it would not fit on the bag. 😂

Here is a short explanation from RickMartinez. tips for cooking farro

He says to treat it like pasta. Farro is chewy. Some like it more al dente for salads. Some like it a bit soft. Not swimming in water but not to let it dry out like rice. Taste before draining of excess water. Might just be a 1/2 cup of excess water. It sounds like you can't rely on grain-to-water ratios like other grains. Or you could just taste it when it starts to dry out, and only add more water to cover a bit if still too firm.

I amost always make a mixed grain. Farro and winter wheat, another chewy grain, alway get a 10 minute head start in my grain pot. Always just the way we like it.

I would also add that the pot used to cook the grains can determine the amount of liquid evaporated in the cooking process. I've found most farro cooking is with the lid off, but quinoa, rice and other grains that cook with a specific amount of liquid with the lid on can vary depending on the pot. I mostly use my LeC for grains, and I find I need to reduce the amount of liquid when cooking with the lid on, or I have to drain at the end.

I used to make farro for breakfast for my kids, and served it like oatmeal with cinnamon, vanilla, some milk, etc. The amount of liquid left over was less an issue then.

Cooking rice in an excess of water is a perfectly ligitimate way of cooking it. It results in light rice with minimal starch.

"Whole Grains Every Day Every Way" by Lorna Sass is an excellent cookbook with a good amount of basic why's and how-to's along with a nice selection of recipes. I follow the basic directions in this book most of the time unless there's a recipe that calls for a specific cooking method (I have a farro and nectarine salad that I need to use the boiling water soak for rather than actually cooking the grain, for example).

FWIW, I've typically not had great results following the package directions of Bob's products.

I think Farro is generally a much harder grain than most rices. It may benefit fronm cooking in a water bath vs steaming. It may also shorten the cooking time.

I've been cooking farro for some years; I add about twice as much water as farro, cook covered most of the time, uncovered towards the end if I need to cook away the extra liquid. I'm also familiar with cooking brown rice, kamut, quinoa (hugely improved IMO if you dry saute it before adding water), bulgur, barley, etc. I never soak farro overnight.

I've never had any problem with Bob's Red Mill cooking instructions for grains, but I often purchase them from other sources as well.