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Whole Spelt Bread

Quick answerMakes 8 servings, ready in about 20 hrs, cook at 230c/446F.
By Jaron Kimhi··👁 632 views
spelt bread
For most people, bread making sounds like a difficult task. Making spelt bread? Sounds like bakery stuff. Truth is, there's nothing to it. If you stick to the instructions and general rules for bread dough as presented here, I guarantee a great crusty spelt bread with amazing flavor — much better than store-bought. To get a deep flavor, we use a 'sponge' or 'starter' dough. It's a dough we make 12–15 hours before the actual spelt bread, left out at room temperature (in summertime it can be left in the fridge). You're looking for a kind of fermentation — you'll see it in the bubbles that appear on the batter. sponge dough

The method we use in this spelt bread

For this spelt bread we use autolyse. The biological meaning of autolyse is self-digestion — when referring to bread, it's the destruction of the cell using its own enzymes. I'll get into the autolyse method in more detail in the future, but in short: we let the dough rest without the action of yeast for about 30 minutes. This allows the gluten to form bonds passively and develop a much more stable structure. It also lets us add more water than usual, creating a much runnier dough. It's not an easy dough to work with, but the outcome is fantastic. spelt bread   There's something about bread — the smell of dough baking in the oven that really brings you back to forgotten memories. Handling dough is a very emotional task. You shape it as you please and determine how it will look at the end of the process. I look at it as a creation, and it really is. Try it and you'll understand what I'm talking about. Enjoy this spelt bread, because it will disappear fast.

Method

  1. 1

    starter dough (Polish)· 12-15 hours

    dissolve the yeast in the water and add to the flower mix, cover with a plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 12-15 hrs. we are waiting for the polish to bubble.

    yeastpolishsponge dough
  2. 2

    prepare the main dough· 2 hours

    mix only the flour and the water for a few minutes, no polish is added at this stage, autolyse remember? cover with a plastic wrap and let rest for 30-60 minutes. add the polish, date honey and yeast to the autolyse dough and mix for 5 minutes, add the salt and mix for another 8 minutes. take dough out of the mixer bowl and hand knead the dough for 2 more minutes. the dough is runny and not easy to handle so spread some flour on the surface to help the dough from sticking. place the dough back in the bowl and cover for another 30 minutes.

    spelt doughspelt doughspelt dough
  3. 3

    final resting and shaping

    at this point you can chose if to divide the batter into 2 loafs or keep as one. spread a bit more flour on the dough and knead for 2 minutes, shape the dough into a loaf pressing it down and rolling it. place dough in a flour dusted pan, i used 8 1/2x4 1/2x2 1/2 inches (21 x 11 x 6 cm) but you can use whatever you want as long as the dough will not pass more than 3/4 of the height of the pan because it will rise. let the bread a final rest of 60-75 minutes

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  4. 4

    baking· 230c/446F

    preheat oven to 230c/446F and place a bowl of water in the bottom of the oven. we are not scoring this bread, it has is indeed risen quite and we don't want it to lose its height. when the oven reach its temperature slide the loafs into the oven and remove the water. bake first 20 minutes on 230c/446F (do not open the door) and another 25 minutes on 210c/410F. cool bread on a rack upside down (we want it to cool down on its firm side not getting is all squishy) for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

    spelt breadspelt breadspelt breadspelt bread
Recipe by

Jaron Kimhi

Jaron Kimhi — self-taught home cook from Tel Aviv, writing and cooking every recipe on this site himself. 20+ years of tinkering in the kitchen, leaning toward slow cooking, classic technique, and honest ingredients.

More recipes by Jaron →

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Categories
BreadVegetarianVegan
Features
VeganVegetarian24hrs
Tags
breadSpeltryebaking

Questions & answers

Can I use regular honey instead of date honey?
Yep, the recipe says regular honey works just fine as a swap — same amount, no other changes needed.
Can I make this as two smaller loaves instead of one big one?
Absolutely — at the shaping stage you can split the dough into two loaves. Just make sure whichever pan you use, the dough fills no more than 3/4 of the height so it has room to rise.
Why do I add the salt last instead of with everything else?
Salt tightens the gluten and can slow fermentation, so you let the dough develop for 5 minutes first, then add it and mix for another 8 minutes — that's the sequence the recipe uses.
Do I really have to cool it upside down?
Yes — flip it onto the rack so it cools on its firm side and doesn't go squishy on the bottom. Give it at least 30 minutes before you slice in.
Why put a bowl of water in the oven and then remove it after loading the bread?
That burst of steam in the first phase helps the loaf rise properly in the oven. Once you slide the bread in, pull the water out so the crust can firm up during the remaining bake.

Nutrition per serving

118
Calories
0.4g
Total Fat
0.060g
Saturated Fat
0g
Cholesterol
210mg
Sodium
19.3 g
Carbohydrates
7g
Dietary Fiber