Whole Spelt Sourdough
When you think of 100% whole grain spelt bread, what images come to mind? Bland 1970’s era health food? What people with dietary restrictions must resort to? Lots of hard and challenging work? A door stop?
Those were largely my impressions until I found this spelt bread recipe to be as delicious and easy to make as it is nutritious. So when the inspiration strikes to get virtuous with your eating habits without sacrificing sensory pleasure, give this one a whirl. You’ll enjoy that flaky, buttery croissant all the more when you rotate this spelt recipe through your bread baking line-up now and then.
A bit about spelt: Spelt is an ancient variety of wheat with its roots in the Fertile Crescent some 9000 years ago. It is more widely used in Europe where it’s known as dinkel in Germany and farro in Italy. While higher in protein than commonly used wheat varieties, the nature of its proteins results in less gluten formation when making bread dough. Spelt is renowned for its health benefits. Many people with wheat allergies or sensitivities can enjoy bread made with spelt flour. What really helped make a fan out of me, however, is the mellow nutty flavor that spelt delivers. Read more about the Wonders of Spelt.
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The Ingredients:
530 grams (about 5 cups well fluffed up) whole spelt flour
350 grams (~1+1/2 cups) water
10 grams (1+1/2 tsp) salt
3 Tbs honey or sugar or 2 Tbs agave
1/4 cup sourdough starter
Follow the instructions in the video.
Bake at 450 for 45 minutes or until internal temp is 195-200.
Spelt/Kamut Variation
Miscellaneous Notes: I’ve baked this bread several times since making the video and have found a few things you can vary in order to adapt the recipe to your time schedule.
Spacing the stretch and folds out by as little as 10-15 minute works just as well as the 30-60 minutes mentioned in the video. Three or four stretch and folds at 15 minute intervals seems pretty optimal.
Most of the time I mix up the dough in the evening, let it sit out overnight, and bake it the next morning. But I’ve also mixed up the dough in the morning and then immediately refrigerated the dough in a covered bowl until just before bed time. I then took it out to proof at room temperature until morning. This worked very well too.
You could probably also leave the dough in the fridge for up to a two or three days until you’re ready to bake. Since the dough continues to proof in the fridge (just very slowly), you’ll want to be careful not to let the dough sit out too long after removing from the fridge or it may over-proof. Since I haven’t tried this yet, you’ll have to take a good guess on the timing and let us know your experience.
Another relatively minor thing I’m doing differently now than when I shot the video, is I’m leaving the lid on the baker for the entire 45 minutes. I find the crust gets plenty brown and crusty this way.
Wheat Berries
Recipe Variations: There are, of course, endless ways to vary the recipe. A mix of spelt and kamut flour also produced an excellent loaf. Kamut is another ancient variety of wheat known for its nutritional value and naturally sweet and nutty flavor. The “official” kamut web site has some very interesting information.
Kamut flour has different moisture absorbtion properties than spelt, so if you’re playing around with different combinations of grains, you’ll also have to adjust the amount of water used. The following worked well:
300 grams spelt flour
230 grams kamut flour
360 grams water
Same as video for everything else.
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I am having issues of getting the dough too wet. I think it might be that id did not fit the plastic bag loosely so the dough could lose water as I left it in the refridgerator. I left it for 2 days and the let it proof for 5 hours before baking. I baked it for 30 minutes at 450.interenal temperature was 205 degrees.
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I haven’t used proofing baskets before. I see their utility, but when I look at how they’re used on the videos on this site, I immediately think that after a few uses these baskets must be great breeding grounds for bacteria in the cracks between the coils—flour, sticky dough, and in some cases sprayed with oil, as is shown on one of the movies. Yuk! So my question to devotees of this method is, how do you clean them, and is this a problem with the baskets?
Thanks.
Hi Rumi,
Sure, you can make whole spelt starter. It might be a little easier to get the starter going using regular white all purpose wheat flour and then once it’s going, just feed it spelt flour a few times and you’ll have spelt starter. It’s only easier because white flour starter will rise easier and so it’s easier to tell when it’s going strong.
Great Video, I will try to make the whole spelt bread. Can I make the sourdough starter from scratch with whole spelt flour?
Thanks.
Rumi
I made the whole Spelt bread but “modified the recipe”, I decreased the water from 350 g to 300 g with 530 g of flour- I have access to local whole grain spelt . I got a hydration of %56.6 by reducing water to 300 g.. I did 3 stretch and folds- 30 minutes apart and place in a covered plastic bag in my refrigerator for 2 days. I took it out and let it “proof for 5 hours and baked at 450 degrees for 30 minutes covered. Internal temperature was 205 degrees. The crust was a bit too done. I think at 425 degrees would be better. The crumb had lots of holes. The nutty taste is unusual .If I can get the crust right and the hydration right this will become my favorite bread.
Comments or suggestions?
Bety,
A very nice loaf indeed, thank you for sharing with us.
Wil
Hi I can not english …
my bread from Czech Republic
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Just wondering – what would be the difference if one omitted the three stretch-and-folds at the beginning? Thanks!
What will change if I transfer the dough to the Dutch Oven before heating it, and both enter the oven while it is still cold?
This means the dough will start rising inside the Dutch Oven while it and the oven get heated.
I am looking for a way to have a crust which is not so hard.
Nevermind making my own starter, I just ordered yours. Very excited to try your recipe in the La Chambra.
I”ll let you know how it turns out. Now first things first, I’m starting my starter!
Hi Cara,
I think it would work great. I visited the La Chambra website – they look like awesome products.
How do you think a black Chambra clay pot would work with your technique? Here is a description:
“The dinnerware is not glazed but burnished. After each piece is made it is coated with a fine red clay. The red clay is then rubbed with natural stones. After firing the red hot pieces are covered with rice husks and smoked. This part of the process is what changes the color from red to black. Small imperfections in the finish and flecks of minerals (mica) in the clay are due to the handmade process. The mica gives the cookware the ability to heat evenly and not crack under temperature changes.”
Loved your video and am inspired to try this!
Well the 2nd time is the charm! I think adjusting my oven temp did the job. Looks pretty with added seeds and taste great!
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My disaster- perhaps due to over proofing and also due to a wet dough- 66.6% hydration in the recipe 530 g of spelt-350 g of water.
The crumb looked right. The baking time was 30 minutes at 450 with top on and 10 minutes with top off. The crust was thin and very crisp.
The main complaint is the dough was so wet it could not hold its shape, the round loaf looked more like a cow pie and the oblong was devoid of any real shape.In no way did it look like the above photos. I am going to try another run and will advise. I do plan to reduce the water from 350 to 325 g. Also, I had a delay and placed my dough in my unheated workshop at 50 degrees and it looked like there had been a bit of dough collapse in the pan.
I mixed the dough last night. It was too wet to really do a stretch and fold. So I just fooled it over using a plastic dough scraper.
I proofed it in out kitchen usually about 70 degrees. I had some unexpected errands so. This morning I moved it to my unheated workshop 50 degrees until 4:00 pm.
I could see where it collapsed by looking at the line in the pan. It is a wet gooey mess. I put it in the proofing basket lined with parchment paper.
I will give it about 2 hours for the dough to straighten out.
It is a double batch so I just did not have the heart to throw it out. On my next attempt I plan to use 318 g of water with 530 grains of spelt whole grain flower for an estimated 60% hydration. I will give a followup comment if this stuff is edible.
Thanks for answering so quickly.
I will try lowering the hydration to 60%.
In addition I will lower those 2 times or use the same times but put the
dough in the fridge.
I live in Israel and we get our spelt flour from Canada.
Hi Rony,
Probably just adding more flour at the beginning to stiffen the dough a bit more next time will help a lot.
Collapsing dough is usually an indication of over proofing which makes me wonder what is the temperature of the room where the dough is rising. If you can find a cooler place, proof it there. Otherwise just shorten the first (long) rising period by a couple hours and maybe the final rise by a bit too.
Are you in another country (judging from your email address)? Different flours can perform differently but the above suggestions should help.
Thanks for the wonderful tutorial.
I am following it as accurate as I can but the moment I transfer the dough to the clay baker it collapses as if it was porridge.
The final result is very tasty but flat and sometimes difficult to take out of the baker when done.
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks
Hi Jim, I forgot to address your equipment questions – you can get everything you need, except the flour, right here in the Breadtopia store. Good prices, reasonable shipping & you’ll be supporting the site too.
You didn’t ask for suggestions on what you should have on hand and you may already have a lot of this stuff. If so, please forgive the unsolicited input, being a no knead enthusiast, I can’t resist.
oblong Lacloche
oblong proofing basket
instant read thermometer
two oven gloves (no mits)
kitchen scale
instant yeast
Dr. Oeter scraper
stainless steel scraper
instant read thermometer
Danish dough whisk (large)
dry sour dough starter.
I’ve suggested the oblong shape because I find it’s the most practical. The bread is easier to handle & slice. A round loaf is prettier – you choose. Of course being a NK and over-all gadget junkie, I have them both. Have fun.
Jim,
I don’t know Palm Springs but try looking up or googling organic foods or health foods and give them a call. Around here (Seattle) that’s where I found spelt flour. Good Luck
now that you have me excited to try spelt bread, where do I find it. I live in Banning, Ca(very near Palm Springs) and no one has it. Matter of fact most have not even heard of it. Also, could you suggest any stores that carry like the proofing basket and clay bakers.
Many thanks
Hi,
The Breadtopia videos inspired me to try baking NK sourdough.
My last loaf turned out just as if I bought it at a bakery! It looked
beautiful and tasted wonderful. That being said, I’d say it took me
a good four loaves to get my oven calibrated, because it was too
fast. My first loaf in fact came out dark brown after only 35
minutes! I eventually bought an oven thermometer, and got the
baking time to about match the 45 minutes in the recipes.
Yesterday, I tried my first whole spelt flour sourdough bread.
I baked it for forty minutes in the Ropemtopf, covered, and
then a few minutes more uncovered. It tasted wonderful,
although my wife felt it was a bit “too heavy.” To me the
crumb was fine, so that may be personal preference. One
thing that surprised me is that unlike my NK sourdough
bread, the spelt had hardly any taste or aroma of sourness
I used my regular starter; perhaps its sourness was
countered by the recipe’s 3T of honey.
John
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Checking your oven temperature: I once had a technician in because I thought my oven was running hot. He checked with his instruments and found it to be “within manufacturer’s tolerances”, or something like that. Not much help. However, he did suggest that a better way to check is to bake some of those Pillsbury rolls that come in a tube following the printed directions exactly. Too dark, you’re running hot – too light, too cool. The logic, of course, is that they produce their dough under very controlled conditions and have tested baking them hundreds of times to get it just right.
Actually, as Eric pointed out, the problem is more likely to be too much time in the oven. Test it with an instant read thermometer (the RT600 that Breadtopia sells is excellent) earlier and leave the lid on for the entire time – I think Eric talks about this in a post subsequent to the video. No need to remove the lid for final browning becasue this loaf, unlike the basic no knead breads, contains sugar which speeds up the browning process.
Have fun. Ed
I am thinking my oven might be going out. And I used my thermometer but I think I should hold the thermometer in longer to get a more accurate reading. Thanks I may try it again tomorrow. Let you know.
I’m wondering if you need to leave it in as long as you did. Do you check it with your thermometer to see what the dough temp was when you took it out? Otherwise, I’d just lower the oven temp. Maybe try 400 next time. I’m also wondering if your oven is running hot? I try to get my bread looking like yours but I have my oven set to 490+ to get there.
This is my first time to use my La Cloche. I really do love it. The bread taste great. My one disappointment is the crust and the sides of the bread seem a little dark. Too crusty. My oven cooked at about 425. Do you have any suggestions?
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P.S. I can’t hear your videos either.
Nancy
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