Spelt Bread
There is just something about homemade bread. I love the way the house smells when bread is baking. I decided to bake some spelt bread last night. It is one of my favorites.
I always have at least a few people who ask me what spelt is.
Spelt flour is a close relative to wheat. I love cooking with it because it is so easy to work with. It doesn’t require much, if any, kneading when you make yeast bread out of it.
Spelt has a texture much closer to white flour in baking other things, like muffins or biscuits. It does contain gluten, so it’s not an answer for people with gluten issues.
For those who do cook with wheat, spelt provides whole grain nutrition in a delicate, less heavy package. The bread I baked was so easy to make and gives me all the taste and fiber of whole wheat bread with less work.
Spelt flour is still tricky to find. Some larger grocery stores carry it, but you might have to go to specialty markets. Bob’s Red Mill is my usual source, so if your store carries their products, you should be able to locate it.
Spelt Bread
3 ¼ c. spelt flour
1 pkt. Active dry yeast
1 c. water
1/3 c. honey
¼ c. oil
1 t. salt
1 egg
Place 2 c. flour, yeast and salt in a medium bowl. Heat together water, honey and oil until warm (120-130 degrees) Add water mixture to spelt mixture and beat on low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds, or until moistened. Add egg and beat on high 3 minutes. Stir in enough spelt to make a soft dough. Cover bowl with towel and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan and use a rubber scraper to transfer dough into prepared pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, another hour. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Cover top with foil during last 10 minutes of baking. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf.
Spelt Bread
There is just something about homemade bread. I love the way the house smells when bread is baking. I decided to bake some spelt bread last night. It is one of my favorites.
I always have at least a few people who ask me what spelt is.
Spelt flour is a close relative to wheat. I love cooking with it because it is so easy to work with. It doesn’t require much, if any, kneading when you make yeast bread out of it.
Spelt has a texture much closer to white flour in baking other things, like muffins or biscuits. It does contain gluten, so it’s not an answer for people with gluten issues.
For those who do cook with wheat, spelt provides whole grain nutrition in a delicate, less heavy package. The bread I baked was so easy to make and gives me all the taste and fiber of whole wheat bread with less work.
Spelt flour is still tricky to find. Some larger grocery stores carry it, but you might have to go to specialty markets. Bob’s Red Mill is my usual source, so if your store carries their products, you should be able to locate it.
Spelt Bread
3 ¼ c. spelt flour
1 pkt. Active dry yeast
1 c. water
1/3 c. honey
¼ c. oil
1 t. salt
1 egg
Place 2 c. flour, yeast and salt in a medium bowl. Heat together water, honey and oil until warm (120-130 degrees) Add water mixture to spelt mixture and beat on low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds, or until moistened. Add egg and beat on high 3 minutes. Stir in enough spelt to make a soft dough. Cover bowl with towel and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan and use a rubber scraper to transfer dough into prepared pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, another hour. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Cover top with foil during last 10 minutes of baking. Bread is done when it sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Makes 1 loaf.
Spelt Dinner Rolls
Spelt flour is one of my favorites for making yeast breads and rolls. Spelt is a whole grain flour, with all the fiber and nutrition of whole wheat flour. Spelt has a softer texture than whole wheat flour. It is easy to work with and rises light and tender.
Spelt also doesn’t require as much kneading as other flours.
For this recipe, I just divided the dough into 12 pieces for pretty good sized rolls. You could divide the dough into up to 18 pieces if you prefer smaller dinner rolls. If you have family members who aren’t crazy about the heavier texture of whole wheat you might want to give spelt flour a try.
Spelt Dinner Rolls
3 ¼ c. whole spelt flour
1 pkt. Active dry yeast
1 c. water
¼ c. honey
¼ c. oil
1 t. salt
1 egg
Place 2 c. flour, yeast and salt in a medium bowl. Heat together water, honey and oil until warm (120-130 degrees) Add water mixture to spelt mixture and beat on low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds, or until moistened. Add egg and beat on high 3 minutes. Stir in enough spelt to make a soft dough. Cover bowl with a towel and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Grease a baking sheet and set aside. Use a rubber scraper to transfer dough onto floured surface. Divide dough into 12 pieces. Shape each piece into dinner roll shapes, using extra flour to prevent sticking. Place on baking sheet and cover with a towel. Allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Cover and let rise until doubled, another hour. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes or until rolls are light brown on top. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Makes 12 rolls.
Spelt Biscotti
Spelt Biscotti
Biscotti are so easy to make. I like having them around for when company is over. Always nice to have with coffee or even a cold glass of milk. A lot less expensive than buying them, too. Biscotti are twice baked. First in a loaf, then sliced and baked again. Most recipes will tell you to bake the slices half way then turn them over to finish. A little time saving trick- just place a cooling rack on the baking sheet then place the sliced biscotti on the rack. That way they get crisp on both sides at once and there is no need to turn them. These are made with spelt flour. Spelt is an ancient grain that is very closely related to wheat. It does contain gluten, so not an option for people with wheat allergies or Celiac but a nice way to add a whole grain to your menu if you eat wheat. Unlike whole wheat flour which tends to be heavy in baking, spelt has a lighter texture and acts more like white flour. I used it to make these biscotti and they are crisp, light and very tasty.
Spelt Biscotti
1 ¼ c. spelt flour*
⅓ c. sugar
1 t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
½ c. walnuts
¼ c. golden raisins- I often use dried cranberries or other dried fruit
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
Combine dry ingredients with nuts and raisins in medium mixing bowl. In small bowl combine eggs and vanilla and add to dry ingredients. Stir together to make a slightly sticky dough. With oiled hands shape into loaf (2”x11”) on oiled sheet. Bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Slice the loaf thin using a serrated knife and place slices on a rack on a baking sheet then return to oven, reduce heat to 300-degrees bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container to retain crunch. Makes about 16.
* If you can’t find spelt flour you can use 3/4 c. all purpose flour and 1/2 c. whole wheat flour instead or substitute the entire amount of flour with whole wheat pastry flour.
Spelt Biscotti
Spelt Biscotti
If you haven’t cooked with spelt flour before you might want to give it a try. Spelt gives you the fiber and nutrition of the whole grain that it is but with a texture like white flour. You can use it in cookies, muffins, waffles and more and get the softness you desire with the extra benefit of cooking with whole grain. Spelt also works great in yeast breads with little kneading. It might be tricky to find in your area, but it is turning up in more stores as demand increases.
Spelt Biscotti
1 ¼ c. spelt flour
⅓ c. sugar
1 t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
½ c. walnuts
¼ c. golden raisins
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
Combine dry ingredients with nuts and raisins in medium mixing bowl. In small bowl combine eggs and vanilla and add to dry ingredients. Stir together to make a slightly sticky dough. With oiled hands shape into loaf (2”x11”) on oiled sheet. Bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven. Slice the loaf thin using a serrated knife and place slices on a rack on a baking sheet then return to oven, reduce heat to 300-degrees bake 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Store in an airtight container to retain crunch. Makes about 16.
