Rosemary Spelt Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is spelt flour good for bread making? ›

Spelt flour is a must-have all-purpose flour everyone needs in their home. Spelt flour offers a myriad of highly nutritious content such as fiber, protein, alcium, selenium, and vitamins your body needs. In addition, it's perfect for all types of baking goods such as bread, muffin, or cookies!

The grain hasn't been crossed with any other species of wheat, making it purer than most modern wheat. In whole-grain form, it provides more essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. Many believe spelt to be a healthier alternative to conventional wheat.

You will have to pay careful attention to how much water you use when you bake with spelt. Too much water will make the dough sticky and weak. On the other hand, too little water will make it dry and dense. We recommend you reduce the amount of water by 25% compared with what you would use for wheat flour.

Spelt contains less of the gliaden protein and hence exhibits a more delicate gluten structure when mixed with water, which means spelt bread doesn't rise as much and is more dense than regular bread.

Most yeast-raised bread recipes for modern wheat call for two rises in the bowl before shaping into loaves. With spelt flour, one rise is all you need. More than one rise in the bowl will cause your dough to not rise sufficiently after forming into loaves. Do not over-rise.

A soft, artisan-style loaf made with five organic super grains (quinoa, spelt, rye, millet, and barley). Dave's Killer Bread is the #1 organic bread maker in the country and a proud Second Chance Employer, providing gainful employment regardless of one's criminal history.

The vitamins and minerals in spelt flour help to boost the immune system and reduce inflammation. Iron, for example, is closely linked to the immune system, according to research published in the Journal of Neural Transmission.

It also has a glycemic index of around 60, which is considered moderate, not low. Still, as a whole grain, spelt is an especially good choice for people with type 2 diabetes. According to a 2020 study, people who ate less processed whole grain foods improved their blood sugar levels in just 2 weeks.

One of the earliest domesticated grains, spelt hasn't changed since Biblical times. It remains unaffected by concepts such as 'agribusiness', 'cross-breeding,' 'hybridization' and 'genetically modified' – words that have come to dominate our modern food supply.

Cons of spelt:

“low” content of fibers – even though the amount of soluble fiber is the same with both versions of whole grains in spelt and wheat (and so is the glycemic index), wheat contains 15% of dietary fiber and more insoluble fibers. Spelt, for its part, contains “only” around 10% of dietary fiber.

Do you need baking powder with spelt flour? ›

Spelt flour comes as plain flour therefore you need to make it into Self Raising Flour as required. – Add 2 teaspoons Baking Powder per 150 grams. – Add 1 teaspoons Baking Powder per 75 grams. – Always sift the flour twice to distribute the Baking Powder thoroughly.

Spelt bread can be stored at room temperature for 3-4 days wrapped in tin foil. It also can be sliced and then stored in a freezer-safe bag in the freezer for up to 2 months. I find that storing in the fridge dries out the bread so I don't recommend it.

Spelt bread dough comes together quickly and becomes pliable with the minimal kneading method described below. The end result has a nutty flavour and springy open texture. I usually double the quantity and make two loaves so one can be stored in the freezer as a stand by.

Something else to note is that spelt flour doesn't absorb water as well as conventional wheat flour, so you might find that working with spelt flour yields a stickier dough than you're used to. You can deal with this by using slightly less liquid or more flour.

It's perfect for baking, creating delicious cakes, pastry, flatbreads, pizza bases and of course bread. Do you know that by adding baking powder you can make your own spelt self-raising flour? Simply add 2 teaspoons of baking powder to 150g of spelt flour.

The spelt flour gives this bread a nice crumb and nutty flavor, while the small amount of all-purpose flour gives this bread more structure so it can form a beautiful tall loaf of bread.

Baking properties: Spelt flour has different baking properties compared to wheat flour. It has less elasticity and weaker gluten compared to wheat flour, which can affect the rise and structure of baked goods.

Spelt flour can add a naturally nutty, wheat flavour to your baking. Spelt naturally proves and rises more quickly than conventional wheat flour, so bake it as soon as it has doubled in size after its second proving.

Making spelt sourdough bread follows the same basic principles as baking sourdough bread with bread flour. However, because spelt flour is a softer flour than bread flour, we need to make some allowances, such as reducing the hydration, to ensure that the dough comes together into a successful loaf of sourdough bread.