Recipes

This recipe for spelt loaf - from Paul Merry of Panary Breadmaking School - is ideal for those who have a mild intolerance to wheat, as it's more digestible than a wheat bread. He says "The nutty flavour of spelt is enjoyed as subtly different from wheat, and if its fermentation is properly checked, it keeps well for a whole-grain style. However, like most wholemeals, it does not freeze well."

"Although spelt is a separate grain - a cousin of wheat - is has retained its ancient form; the 5000 year old spelt grains found in Egyptian royal burial tombs are exactly the same as the seeds we import today.

"Spelt has lots of useful gluten. It tends to be the type of gluten called 'extensible' rather than the elastic type developed in the high protein strands of wheat. You will feel the long strands of gluten when you knead it, and it tends to bring an alarming stickiness. Its softer and sticky nature leads me to suggest that you choose to support the loaf in a tin." 

For more on baking your own bread, where to buy 'real' bread and much, much more - visit Our Daily Bread, part of Our Little Green Book series.

To make two large or three medium-sized loaves   
     
    1 kg wholemeal spelt
    600-650ml lukewarm water
    15-20g salt
    15-20g fresh yeast (7-10g dried yeast)
    2-3 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

Treat the dried yeast to the manufacturer's instructions, or disperse the fresh yeast in the water. Make the dough: Disperse the dried yeast in the flour or disperse the fresh yeast in the warm water before you add the liquid to the flour and salt. In summer or a very warm kitchen the water only needs to be barely lukewarm, but in winter or cold situations the water must be at least bloodwarm.

Begin kneading immediately and get the dough gathered together into a homogenous whole BEFORE you add the oil so you can decide whether it needs more water to soften it, or more flour if it is too wet.  If you have obtained strong and glutenous flour like a professional baker would, then the kneading will go on for a long time before the gluten is truly developed.  Prior to the gluten and dough becoming fully developed, expect to encounter a fairly alarming stickiness as the gluten reaches its extended state.  Do not panic, just work with a bench scraping tool if you are using your hands, or scrape the bowl down several times if you are using a machine.

Leave the dough covered to sit in bulk, but only for a period up to an hour.  The time taken will depend on its finished temperature, and you can test it for readiness with the finger-poke test - when poked with a finger, it is expected to close the cavity slightly, meaning that you do not allow it to get as puffy as a white bread dough.  Do not leave it so long that it is willing to collapse when you bump or shake it.  

Divide it to suitable sizes for your tins, give it a short rest (covered) for its intermediate proof, and then mould it  by slapping and patting the dough with both hands to expel the gas and allow it to expand sideways so that the piece is becoming an oval. Further sideways movement can be achieved by picking up both ends and gently stretching the piece. Now, fold the sides into the centre, but first divide it by eye into thirds so that the left and right sides will sit on top of each other, overlapping on the central third. Press downwards again so that the piece is flattish and squared at the front facing you. The final action is to roll it up towards yourself as neatly as you can and place the moulded loaf in a greased tin with its rough seam down.

Put it aside, well covered, for its final proof, which should take less than an hour, even if it is fairly cool by now. Have the oven hot and ready at 200C, and bake it when you consider that it has expanded sufficiently to meet the dimensions of the tins or when a gentle poke with a finger tip leaves a dent.  If you see any trapped gas that could puff up into ugly surface blisters while it is baking, gently prick the top of the loaves with a skewer to deflate the gas pockets.

Check what is happening after 20-25 minutes, and if the top of the bread is likely to scorch, either lower the setting or cover the loaves with a sheet of paper - greaseproof,  plain butcher's paper, plain wrapping paper, or the modern non-stick paper called "parchment" in cookware shops.       

Spelt, being a bit denser, will take longer to bake than white, and a large loaf may need as long as 35 - 40 minutes.   Touching it and tapping it for the vibration accompanying the hollow sound will let you know that it is properly baked.