6 100% Spelt

As promised, here is the 100% wholemeal spelt bread I made last Saturday.

First all, let's get to the low-down on spelt. Google will provide you with much more information, so I will just briefly highlight the key aspects.

What is spelt?
Spelt is an ancient variety of wheat (specifically, Triticum spelta) that may have originated in the region of present-day Iran or southeastern Europe from a crossbreeding of emmer with other other local wild grasses. Compared to modern wheat, its seeds are covered and thus not easy to thresh. However thanks to modern machinery, spelt is now easier to mill and is making a comeback to our 21st century kitchen tables.

Properties (and benefits) of spelt
Spelt is higher in protein, but not specifically gluten, than red and white wheat. As such, some people with gluten intolerance (e.g. celiac disease) don't react to spelt. Gliadin is the portion of gluten that people with celiac disease can't digest. One theory is that spelt contains a different, more tolerable, type of gliadin. Moreover, unlike regular wheat whose nutrients are concentrated in its outer layers, the nutrients are more evenly distributed throughout the whole kernel. As such, if you're not yet accustomized to wholegrains food (containing bran, germ, endosperm), even using white spelt flour (endosprem only) can offer more benefits than normal wheat flour.

Cooking with spelt

Tastewise, there is hardly any difference between spelt and wheat, at least to my tastebuds. However, in terms of baking, there is much to tweak from conventional recipes, because the gluten in spelt is more fragile than the gluten in wheat or whole wheat.

• Amount of water. Too much water and you will have a sticky and weak dough; too little water the dough will be dry and dense
• Mixing. Undermix and the dough will not be properly hydrated leading to poor expansion; overmix and the protein strands holding the dough will break down. Experts set a 4 min maximum threshold for mixing the dough, from the time water is added.
• The best way to baking with spelt, especially wholegrain spelt, is by using a soaker/starter, to activate the enzymes which will in turn convert the complex carbohydrates into simpler sugars. This provides instant "food" for the yeast when both the soaker and starter are combined into a final dough. (Based on Peter Reinhart's delayed fermentation method)

I find the sciency stuff behind bread making highly interesting. I mean there is so many factors at play - yeast activity, enzyme activity, bacteria, humidity, temperature, sugars, salt... - that can make or break your dough.

Now for the lengthy recipe. Feel free to scroll down to skip this part and see the final outcome.

Whole Spelt Sandwich Bread (adapted from Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads)
Makes 1 large loaf

This recipe takes two days. Day one for the soaker and biga (starter), day two for the final dough and baking. Do plan in advance because yeast and enzymes wait for no man!

DAY 1
Ingredients
Soaker

• 1 3/4 cups wholegrain spelt flour (Bob's Red Mill brand)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp soymilk (or milk, buttermilk, yogurt, or other non-dairy milk)

Biga

• 1 3/4 cups wholegrain spelt flour (Bob's Red Mill brand)
• 1/4 tsp instant yeast (or rehydrated dry active yeast or wild yeast
• 3/4 cup filtered water at room temp

Directions

1. Mix all of the soaker ingredients together in a bowl for about 1 min, until the flour is hydrated and the ingredients form a ball of dough.
2. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and leave at room temp for 12-24 h. (If more than 24 h, place the soaker in the refrigerator and remove it 2 h before mixing the final dough).
3. Mix all of the biga ingredients together in a bowl to form a ball of dough. Using wet hands, knead dough for 2 min so that all ingredients are evenly distributed and flour is fully hydrated. The dough should feel very tacky (sticky). Let dough rest for 5 min, then knead again with wet hands for 1 min. The dough will become smoother but still be tacky.
4. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days.
5. About 2 h before mixing the final dough, remove biga from refrigerator. It will have risen slightly but need not have risen significantly in order to use it in the final dough.

DAY 2
Ingredients

• Soaker from Day 1
• Biga from Day 1
• 7 tbsp wholegrain spelt flour
• 5/8 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast (or the equivalent of rehydrated dry active yeast or wild starter)
• 3 tbsp sugar (or 2 1/4 tbsp honey)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil (or butter)

Directions

1. Using a pastry scraper (or any other tool; I used a kitchen knife), chop the soaker and biga into 12 smaller pieces each. Sprinkle some extra flour to keep the pieces from sticking back to one another.
2. Combine soaker and biga pieces in a bowl with all of the other ingredients except the extra flour and stir vigorously with a mixing spoon or knead with wet hands until all the ingredients are evenly integrated and distributed into the dough. If should be soft and slightly sticky; if not add more flour or water as needed.
3. Dust work surface with flour, then toss the dough in the flour to coat. Knead by hand for 3-4 min,incorporating only as much extra flour as needed, until dough feels soft and tacky, but not sticky. Form dough into ball and let rest for 5 min. Meanwhile, prepare a clean, lightly oiled bowl.
4. Resume kneading dough for 1 min to strengthen gluten and make any final flour or water adjustments. Form dough into ball and place it into the prepared bowl, rolling to coat with oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temp for 45-60 min, until 1 1/2 times original size.
5. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and form it into loaf pan shape (or freestanding batard). Place dough into greased bread pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temp for 45-60 min, until 1 1/2 times original size.
6. Preheat oven to 425F (218C). When dough is ready to bake, place it in the oven and lower temp to 350F (177C). Bake for 20 min, rotate loaf 180 degrees, and continue to bake for another 20-30 min, until load is rich brown. If using thermometer (which I don't have), the internal temp should be 195F (91C).
7. Transfer bread to cooling rack. Cool for at least 1 h before serving.

A side-by-side comparison of the crumb of the ideal wholewheat bread (taken from the recipe book) and the one that I made. Well...ain't too shabby for a first-timer eh? Of course, my crumbs are slightly denser, especially around the base and the edges, and the holes are much more uneven. As I mentioned in my previous post, it was slightly gummy on the first day, but by yesterday (day 2) and today (day 3), the texture was juuust right! The crumb is still dense, as expected from using wholegrain flour, but it has dried out a bit, probably because I also toasted the bread.

I've been enjoying it in all sorts of forms: slathered with PB&J (Hediard's fig jam) for breakfast; cheesy mozzaerlla & salmon for lunch. In truth the bread is rather tasteless, but somehow it's so lovely! I think it all boils down to the right texture. Being tasteless has its own advantage too: it's versatile and soaks up the flavour of any topping you put on it!

Next up: Spelt Cinnamon Raisin Bread. It looks so good in the book! Oh yes, if you're a new baker or are interested in the science behind bread, I highly recommend Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads. Very detailed, science explained but still very accessible and easy to understand.