Spelt Flour For Bread
Having learned to make bread with white and wholemeal wheat flour I tried my hand at making Spelt bread. Spelt flour may seem like a more unusual commodity these days, but was once much more widely used than wheat. Wheat became popular because it is much easier to grind and gradually Spelt dropped out of useage.
Bread made with Spelt flour is easy and relatively quick to bake to create a delicious loaf. It is also good for people on a wheat free diet
Spelt flour is however now experiencing a revival especially with a growing number of people going on a wheat free diet. Spelt contains gluten so is not suitable for a gluten free diet, but it is much lower in gluten than wheat and I understand it is of a different structure that breaks down more easily, making the bread more digestible.
There has also been an increase in interest in artisan bread making, so people are increasingly interested in different types of bread. Artisan bread is wonderful to buy, but often a bit pricey, so why not make your own artisan bread – it is easier than you think, especially using spelt flour as it requires less kneading than other breads.
And we all know home made bread is so much nicer than any bought sliced loaf from the supermarket!
Making Your Own Bread
When making your own bread it is also, in my opinion much easier to make than wheat bread – and quicker too. It requires a shorter kneading time and it can be made with just one proving too so it can be made from start to finish in about an hour and a half.
Over the twentieth century bread-making seems to have changed from an everyday normal activity to something that is more of a difficult and specialist skill in people’s perception so if the tide is turning again back to people knowing that they can make their own bread this is a good thing. I guess bread-making machines are helping and reduce the time a person needs to spend on it while still getting the benefit of freshly made bread.
For me kneading dough is therapy time! Turn on the radio or use the time to allow your thoughts run freely. It can be very good for your mental health. Not that kneading bread is mundane – but it doesn’t take up a lot of brain space – and that is when the magic can really happen – you know when you are just going about some daily chores and suddenly the answer to a problem pops into your head!
Bread making is some time to yourself, creative and produces a wonderful loaf for you and your family to enjoy! So what’s stopping you?
You can buy spelt bread flour in most large supermarkets and in local health food shops or shops specialisng in local food. It is usually quite abit lower cost in the large supermarkets. You can buy wholemeal or white spelt flour
Wholemeal Spelt Bread
Ingredients
- 450g / 1lb wholemeal spelt flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 teaspoons dried yeast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 325ml tepid water
Cooking Directions
- Grease a 2lb loaf tin
- Put the flour in a large bowl and add the yeast, salt and sugar
- Stir to mix
- Add the oil and water
- Stir to mix
- Bring together the mix with your hands
- Turn out on a work surface
- Knead for about 5 minutes
- Place in a bowl, cover with a tea towel at room temperature for about one hour until it has doubled in size
- Turn out on a work surface, knock back and knead for a few minutes
- Shape into loaf tin size by folding the dough and shaping
- Place in the loaf tin, cover and leave for about 30 minutes
- Bake in the preheated oven at 220 degrees c for 40 minutes
- Turn out and cool on a wire rack
Hi Penny,
I’ve used your recipe in a bread maker and added walnuts, pepita and sunflower seeds to the mix and it tastes so good!!
Everyone loves it… thank you for sharing?
Could I substitute the sugar for honey or maple surup to make it clean? Was unsure if the yeast would still activate ok.
Thanks
I made this recipe this week. The only thing I changed was I mixed it in my Kenwood mixer for 5 minutes using the dough hook. A great result, lovely texture and taste. Slices and toasts well. Will definitely do again…regularly! (I may try doubling the recipe for a deeper loaf and cooking 20 minutes longer)
I have had a few goes at this now and each one gets better. When making it into bread rolls I have found it fantastic. When making actual loaves I find them a little small but I think that is because we are used to commercial suppliers. It is definitely harder than shop bought bread, but again I think that is just what we have become used to. I did use a milk glaze on top to make it brown nicely. Sharing the recipe everywhere. 🙂
Thank you for the tip about making bread rolls – and the milk glaze. I am glad you are enjoying it – and thank you for sharing it! 🙂
I used your measurements from this recipe, but I allowed the water yeast and sugar to activate for 5 minutes before I added the flour. I was only able to get half of the flour to mix. The recipe called for one pound of flour, I only used half of a one pound bag of spelt flour. I followed your instructions and my bread did not turn out. It is hard as a rock and I can’t eat it.
Thanks for getting in touch. I suspect the problem is because you used only half the flour suggested- but I will make it again in the next few days and check the recipe
How long do you bake it? Or how do know when it’s done?
Thanks for asking! I had left that out – about 40 minutes or when a tap on the loaf base has a nice hollow sound. I have now added thi sto the recipe!