100% Whole Spelt Sourdough Bread using a Simple Process
I hope you all enjoy my simple recipe for easy everyday whole spelt sourdough bread. I haven't always had access to spelt grain for my home milling, but lately I've been using this grain from Burrum Biodynamics to make wonderful freshly milled whole spelt flour, and honestly, it makes the best tasting bread I have ever eaten!
This recipe is very flexible. You could make it all in one day if you wanted to, or extend the fridge time for the final proof out to a full day, or even two! (As long as the first/bulk ferment isn’t overdone). You can start in the morning, or evening, and increase or decrease the amount of sourdough starter in the recipe to speed up or slow down the fermentation to suit your schedule.
Ingredients:
500g whole grain spelt flour
My flour was milled from the whole grain the night before I mixed the dough, but store-bought flour is perfectly ok too, just get stone-ground whole grain spelt flour with nothing sifted out of it, if you can.
(These links may also be useful: whole grain suppliers Australia - home milling - storing whole grains)8g salt
50g sourdough starter
Due to the small amount required, I just used some of my whole wheat starter, but you can feed your starter with spelt flour before using it if you like to make the loaf truly 100% spelt. You can also alter the amount of starter used according to your schedule. Want the dough to last all day without over-fermenting in summer? Use half the amount of starter I used, and keep your dough as cool as possible (using cold water helps too).350 - 375g water
You may need more or less water than I used. The first time I made this bread I used 375g of water and it was just about perfect, but others (mainly in the USA and Canada) reported it was too much for their spelt flour). Cereal grain crops vary a lot - not only by variety but also by the season and location they are grown in. You will have to adjust the water amount for your particular flour (especially for whole grain flours which vary the most!).
Method:
In a large bowl, combine spelt flour and salt thoroughly, then make a well in the centre of the flour.
Pour the water into the flour well, and add the sourdough starter.
Take your time using a spoon to slowly dissolve the starter in the water and slowly incorporate the flour.
Mix until you have most, if not all, of the dry flour incorporated into the dough. Don’t mix it any more than is needed. We’re just trying to hydrate the flour without kneading it at this stage.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 30-60 minutes.
After the rest, knead the dough gently for a few minutes to completely combine the ingredients and make the dough smooth and supple. See how I do this in the video for an idea of the texture you’re looking for. Spelt is a weaker gluten flour, so it doesn’t need robust mixing and kneading as regular wheat loaves can do.
Cover the dough again and rest for the first fermentation period (bulk fermentation). Fold the dough gently a couple of times through this period if you are able to. If your dough is moist enough, you can do stretch and folds, or just tip the dough onto the bench, stretch it out and fold it up a few times (that’s what I did). This builds more strength in the dough.
*The bulk fermentation time for this dough (any sourdough for that matter) will vary significantly depending on many factors (mostly temperatures of the flour, water and kitchen environment). It was a cold day in Brisbane when I made this bread (maximum about 20°C/68°F), so it was slow going in my little old house with not-so-great insulation. I also milled my flour the night before mixing the dough, so it wasn’t still warm from milling as it often is. Given these variables, my dough took about 9 hours to get about 1.5 times its original volume (that’s slow!). But don’t forget I used a fairly small amount of starter as well, so that slows things down too. Be prepared for yours to move a lot faster than mine did, especially if you’re in the northern hemisphere and experiencing opposite weather conditions to my Australian climate.Once the dough is starting to rise and has reached about 1.5 times its original size (only a 50% rise), then it’s time to shape. Because this dough spends a long time in the fridge for the final proof, we want to ensure it’s not fermented too much in the bulk fermentation. To shape the dough, just fold it up a few times until you get a nice, firm, taught ball or log shape. Be careful not to tear the surface of the dough, but you can usually shape spelt more robustly due to its high extensibility (it can stretch quite a lot without tearing). Refer to the video for the simple method I used for this loaf. If you want to bake this bread in a pan, just roll the dough into a log shape and place it in the tin - easy!
Place the shaped dough into a plastic bag or other sealed container and put into the fridge for 12-18 hours/overnight. As already mentioned, you can extend the final fridge proof for a day or more if the bulk ferment isn’t overdone and your dough isn’t too warm.
Next morning, when you are ready to bake, preheat your oven and baking pot (if using) to 210°C/410°F.
Once the oven is ready, take your dough straight from the fridge and carefully tip it out onto the baking surface.
Score the dough in whatever pattern or shape you like (you can use my method from the video if you’d like to try for a traditional artisan-style loaf with an ‘ear’), cover the dough if you’re using a baking pot, and place it in the oven.
Bake at 210°C/410°F for 30 minutes covered, followed by another 10-15 minutes uncovered. I tap the bottom of my loaves to ensure they sound hollow and cooked at the end of the baking time.
Leave the dough to cool completely (if you can resist) before slicing.
There’s something very special about this spelt sourdough. I’m not sure if all spelt breads taste as good as this one does, but it has certainly taught me a good lesson on how much difference the quality of flour can make to a loaf of bread. My organic wheat loaves are enjoyable, but the flavour of this simply made spelt sourdough really is next level. I’d love to know if others in different countries find the same difference between their wheat and spelt loaves. It seems to be a really magic grain!
Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy the recipe and have fun trying out what works best for you with your flour and conditions. Please also share with others if you think they may be interested.
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