Spelt

[james]

I have a nice bag of stone ground spelt flour, but I've never used spelt before.

Does anyone have any ideas here? Do you use it as you would a denser grain, or like Rye, where you add it for character to a more basic whole wheat sourdough? Or do you treat it more like a wheat flour?

I did an experiment, with 200gr GP, 200gr whole wheat, 100gr rye and 100gr spelt -- with 350gr of water. But it's a stab in the dark. It's cooling now, so I'll let you know what happens.

Any input would be appreciated.
James

[mfiore]

I have a bag, too, that I saw at the health food store. Have no idea what to do with it. It's getting pushed further back in the pantry.

[dmun]

It's sprouted wheat, right? For the gluten adverse?

[james]

I know nothing, but I just Wiki'd. It looks like a relative to our friend common wheat. Spelt often shows up as a good alternative for wheat (gluten?) sensitive diets. Trader Joe's has a good supply of Spelt bread.

James

*****

Spelt (Triticum spelta) is a hexaploid species of wheat. Spelt was an important staple in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times; it now survives as a relict crop in Central Europe and has found a new market as a health food. Spelt is sometimes considered a subspecies of the closely related species common wheat (T. aestivum), in which case its botanical name is considered to be Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta.

[dchamp]

Re: Spelt

Good morning,
Just recently saw this.
If I can find some spelt locally will give it a try in my WFO.
David

Spelt Bread Recipe ? Bread Making Videos

[Frances]

Spelt is quite common around here - as far as I know you can treat it just the same as you would regular flour.

[brokencookie]

I make Spelt bread frequently for my daughter who is alergic to wheat. Using the No-Knead method I make it with about 70% hydration. It is very similar to a 100% whole wheat bread....Dense and a little chew.. but good. To make the texture a little finer and improve the "feel" I use about 20% mashed yams and reduce the water by about 5%. It's a great alternative to wheat for those who are alergic. It is by far the easiest to use because you can subsitute it straight into recipes without modification.

Bruce

[james]

My spelt bread came out pretty well -- though I'm not sure I can specifically taste the spelt. This one had a little of everything in it. Still, it was light and moist and not too dense. The loaf proofed overnight and I gave it a long time (something like 6-8 hours) for the chill to go off it.

Other than the allergy issue, is spelt good for you -- I am guessing it's good like any other whole grain.

FB

[berryst]

That is fine looking bread..very fine indeed, beautiful. How did you achieve he pattern on top?

[Frances]

Originally Posted by james

Other than the allergy issue, is spelt good for you -- I am guessing it's good like any other whole grain.

FB

I would think its more about the biodiversity thing - as far as I know Spelt is not better or worse for you than regular wheat, but eating many different kinds of grain is healthier than eating the same one all the time.

It certainly looks very good!