Sourdough spelt bread

May 17, 2018 24 Comments

First time I baked with Spelt, everything went wrong.
It was some years ago, and I thought it should be like baking with ordinary wheat flour. So I just exchanged all the wheat with Spelt in a recipe I found.
The dough floated out here and there and everywhere. I ended up with something I just want to forget.
I was ignorant and inexperienced, and I thought I knew all I had to know about flour.
Well, that flat, ugly piece of bread I had created taught me I had no clue.

After that mistake, I always do my homework before I try to bake with a new kind of flour.
I also learned that it’s quite difficult to bake bread with only Spelt flour. So, I mix it with wheat bread flour to a ratio of 20, 35, and sometimes even 50%.
But never more than that.
I know that there are bakers that bake with 100% Spelt, but I’m not ready for that yet.

This sourdough spelt bread recipe is for those of you who have never baked with Spelt before but want to give it a try.
Spelt flour has a unique taste that you won’t find in ordinary wheat.
That’s one reason why it has become so popular among sourdough bakers. It is also rich in nutritional value compared to wheat.

You can say it’s a little bit of a super flour.
Except when it comes to holding the dough together.

Spelt flour contains a high amount of protein, and it does develop gluten. However, the gluten has a different character than in wheat. Wheat develops gluten with a good balance in stretchiness and elasticity. Spelt tends to develop far more stretchiness, and that can render some problems for the baker. The dough floats out to the sides instead of rising upwards.
Just the kind of problems I ran into when I was baking with Spelt flour the first time.

So, what can you do to prevent these problems? The most common way is to mix Spelt flour with wheat flour. If you exchange 20-35% of the wheat with Spelt, you will still have some of the superior taste and texture that the Spelt flour provides.
Spelt flour is one of the best flour you can use if you want a thick, crunchy crust.
You will notice a difference even if you only add low amounts, like 20%, as we will do in this recipe.
Another trick is to add slightly less water. Whit less water to absorb, the dough will develop a little less stretchiness. Some bakers claim that more kneading or stretch and fold sessions during bulk fermentation can help. I have not tried that personally, so I can’t verify that. But I think it’s worth trying.

PREPARING THE DOUGH

As mentioned before, I used a mix of 20% Spelt flour with 80% wheat flour. The protein content was 12% for the Spelt flour and 11.5% for the wheat.
I used a wheat starter (with a small amount of rye) with 100% hydration.
The hydration of the dough is 70%. You may have to increase the water amount to get the same result if you are using a much stronger flour.
All ingredients were mixed except the salt before I let the dough rest for an hour. If you prefer to let the dough rest before you add the starter (autolyze), feel free to do that.
After an hour it was time for the first stretch and fold. I also added half of the salt.
After an additional 30 minutes, I performed a new stretch and fold and added the rest of the salt.
After that, I performed three stretches and fold in 30-minute intervals.

BULK FERMENTATION

Try to find a warm place for the bulk fermentation, preferably 78ºF/25ºC. That can be tricky sometimes. I use to place the dough in the oven with the lamp lit. That works fine, but you have to be a bit careful. It can be too hot, so I always measure the temperature with a thermometer. I let the dough ferment for 5 hours, including the first rest and time between every stretch and fold.

FINAL RISE

The time required for the final rise depends on many factors. The surrounding temperature and the strength of the starter are just two of many. You can let it ferment at room temperature or in the refrigerator depending on taste and how much time you have. Fermentation in cold temperature takes longer of course, but it also gives more taste to the bread. The end result can be quite sour though, so if you don’t like that, you should consider letting the dough ferment at room temperature.

It’s almost impossible to give advice about the time required for the final rise. Therefore I have stopped doing that. Instead, I encourage my readers to observe and touch the dough. The finger poke test gives you a hint when it’s time to bake. I have described the test in an earlier recipe, and you can read about it here.
The bread you see on the pictures fermented 1 hour at room temperature (73ºF/23ºC). But I have also let it ferment overnight in the fridge. It gives a hint of tanginess which I like very much, but that’s a personal preference.

TIME TO BAKE

Preheat the oven to 480ºF / 250ºC. I have used a baking stone for the bread on the pictures, but you can also use a dutch oven with good result. If you don’t have any of those items, It’s OK to use an oven sheet.
Always score the loaf before baking. You don’t have to go for an ear like I did on the loaf at the pictures. The important thing is that you score it, so you know where it will expand

Always use steam in your oven when baking bread if you don’t use a dutch oven. It doesn’t have to be anything advanced. An extra preheated oven sheet that you can pour some water on before you close the oven lid is better than nothing. Steam prevents the surface from drying out which will give a better oven spring. It also gives the crust a more pleasant color.
This bread needs about 35-40 minutes in the oven. You may have to lower the heat during the last 10-15 minutes.

I think that baking with Spelt flour is very rewarding. Even at a content of 20%, you can notice the taste benefits both in the crumb an crust. If you look at the crumb shot, you can see that the crumb is relatively tight. Still, when you hold a slice of the loaf in your hand it’s surprisingly light. The perfect slice for a sandwich in my opinion.
But if you prefer a more open crumb, you can try to add more water.
Be careful though, and do it in small steps.
I will use Spelt a lot in the future, at least when I’m baking with wheat because of the crunchy and tasty crust it provides. I simply love it. But next time I bake this sourdough spelt bread I think it’s time to try to use 60% spelt flour.

Maybe.