Spelt help

Profile picture for user JMonkey
JMonkey on 29 May 2007 at 07:41
I grind my own flour and regularly make whole wheat breads at about 85-90% hydration to get an open crumb - not as open as with white flour, of course, but holey enough for me. Anyway, I bought 6 pounds of spelt berries a couple of weeks ago and started up a spelt sourdough starter. I made a round loaf of 50-50 whole wheat / whole spelt at 85% hydration. Lovely crumb, lovely flavor. Big ole pancake of a loaf. It spread out something awful in the oven. I've previously made a sourdough sandwich loaf with 50-50 whole wheat - whole spelt at 80% hydration, and it turned out great. A bit less of a rise than 100% wheat, but still acceptable, and the flavor was really nice. Tangy and nutty. But the loaf also had butter, milk and some honey in it, which could have made a difference, I suppose. The round was just flour, water, salt and starter. I developed both the round and the sandwich loaf using the stretch and fold method described by Mike Avery (i.e., mix until all is hydrated, rest for an hour, then fold ever 45 minutes or so). I folded three times. I see several possibilities for why the loaf spread: 1) I've read that spelt doesn't absorb as much water as wheat. Perhaps I added too much water? 2) I've also read that spelt's gluten is more fragile than wheat. But, as I said, the pan loaf rose just fine. 3) Perhaps I didn't develop the dough well enough? (again, though, the pan loaf was fine) 4) Maybe my shaping needs help. I was trying to be as gentle as possible, so maybe I was a bit too gentle. Anyway, if anyone has any experience working with whole spelt and has tips and pointers, I'd be most appreciative.

I did play with spelt flour after whole wheat flour experiments; I only use 76 ~ 77% hydration for my spelt bread. The spelt flour that I use was store bought so I can not give you any suggestion about home grind flour. The method that I use is the same old methods that I apply for my whole wheat sourdough. I just felt in love with spelt after eating my first loaf of spelt sourdough. I will post my picture in Image Gallery.

 

Jane

tattooedtonka on 29 May 2007 at 08:45

After seeing different posts of yours I looked up a spelt site.  Kinda plain, www.spelt.com . It had a couple neat little nuggets of information about spelts history, with a couple interesting links.

But I was curious as to what your finished Spelt breads taste like.  I can find info all day googling types of spelt and such, but it doesnt tell me taste..

I thought you had mentioned before that you like it because it is a little sweeter.  Or maybe I dreamed that part, I dont know.

But could you enlighten me as to your take on the flavor of spelt bread vs. say white or wheat.

I will be sure to keep watching this thread to see what folks have to say to you for tips.  I can always use tips.

TT

I find that spelt makes the loaf taste as if I've added some sort of nut flour, like pecan or almond. It's also a bit sweeter than wheat to me.

Jane, does that sound right to you?
Toast

jane on 29 May 2007 at 09:01

JMonkey,

You are right.

No wonder my housemate love them so much.

 

Jane

I use 25% less water in spelt every time, and my starter can be either stiff or wet. Also I get pretty much the same results from either whole or sifted. You must let the spelt flour rest more too.

I do my multi grain with up to 50% spelt and a 100% sourdough spelt and both work well. The 100% won't rise, just like 100% rye but it will spread quickly unfortunately.

I don't have success with the stretch and fold with spelt, I prefer to knead a lot rather than stretch and fold so it could be just me.

Did you preheat both breads equally? Any other differences? The dairy would make a difference, whenever I use Kefir milk I tend not to have pancake loaves (except when I make kefir pancakes).

That much spelt in the recipe tells me it'll need to be baked in a form because the gluten is lower.  Try baking in a casserole or a frying pan (no handle) with a nice curve on the lower edges. Careful not to use too big of a form so it rises up and not out. Mini Oven
I didn't know there was such a thing but found it today at my health food store in the bulk foods. Tonight I'm going to mix up a batch of JMonkey's waffle recipe (adapted, I think, from KAF) using this flour.  I also bought some organic spelt berries to grind for flour. Any hints on how fine I should grind it and any new conclusions on letting the flour age or not?                                                                               weavershouse
Today, as I said, I bought spelt berries to grind. I just noticed my receipt said HULLED spelt berries. Is that right? Is HULLED what I want for flour? And do you grind yours very fine? And do you let the flour age or not? I guess there's more than one question there! Thanks.                                                    weavershouse
Yes, I believe that hulled just means that they've taken the outer husk off. Spelt has a very tough husk, which is good in that it naturally protects it very well from pests, but also makes it a pain in the neck to remove.

Since I've got a WonderMill, I don't have much choice about the coarseness of my flour. It's always fine or very fine. And I haven't been aging my flour, but maybe I should. I'm going to grind flour over this weekend for the following weekend, and see how it performs.

Have you tried aging the spelt flour (already suggested, I think)

What about using a soaker for the spelt? I usually do this with home milled wheat flour - softens the bran so it interferes less with gluten development. (You'd have to play with hydration) 

Thanks for the answers. I'm ready to give it a go. I've used spelt flour several times but this will be the first time I grind my own. If anyone knows of a good book about grinding grains at home I'd love to hear about it. I have Flour Power but it talks more about why we should eat whole grains but not much about the hows of the different grains. I already know why I want to use whole grains. I read that semolina is cream of wheat. Anyone ever try it?                              weavershouse
I don't know of any good book on home milling grain. This is the only forum I've ever found with regular posters who routinely mill their own grain at home. I've milled my own flours for over 20 years and I've picked up a lot of excellent tips. I think it is your best resource - far better than books! Be prepared to experiment...
or Semolina is also good in bread but it absorbs lots of moisture.  Use it all the time, can also be added cooked as well.  Would not use it alone but add other flours as well to the dough.  Mini Oven
Helen et al, I might have missed it, but have you come across the G.I. value for spelt? This thread is very interesting. M

Susan I took a quick look at the whfoods.com site. Very interesting and full of great info on nutrition. I'm still trying to get my bearings on what to do about improving nutritional intake in our home in some organised fashion. I think this will help.

Thanks,

Eric

Thank you for that. I'm interested because my husband has the metabolic syndrome and has to keep an eye on his blood sugars (and levels of other biochemical components). I am following through this spelt flour (have yet to find whether and where it is available in NZ). Mixing it with barley flour would certainly lower the G.I). M
Eric, Spelt flour is probably recommended over some other flours eg white flour and wholemeal flour because of its lower Glycaemic Index value i.e less insulin is released to metabolise the ensuing glucose following the digestion of the spelt carbohydrates. People with Type 2 Diabetes have less insulin receptors on their cells to allow insulin entry into the cells, so their blood insulin levels tend to rise - and hyperinsulinaemia, as it is called, causes other problems down the track. There is a lot or research being done, especially in Australia, assessing the G.I value of mixed foods and one suggestion is that by adding barley flour ( has a very low G.I) to other bread flours will bring the G.I. value down even further; which means less unused insulin would be present in the blood. As I have mentioned earlier, we are keeping an eye on my husband's blood sugar levels (and choleserol too) and if the former keep rising, this modified bread mixture wil be used for our daily bread.There has been some mention that an average G.I. of a mixed diet is a reasonable aim for all of us as diabetes is appearing in alarming frequency especially in countries where people are adopting the Western type of diet. The G I. value is rated against 100, and as Helen pointed out; white flour is 100 and spelt flour 88. I'll have to look up what barley flour is. Incidently, pure maple syrup has a much lower G.I. than brown sugar so my husband uses that on his oatmeal breakfast. (in NZ we call it porridge and I am a non-starter!)
I agree with Sue from San Diego, Eric; this is an excellent website for factual nutrition educatiion, especially learning about the G.I values . Maggie664 ( NZ Registered Dietitian)

Maggie664, thank you for stepping up with professional advice. Now that I have mentioned this to a few friends I'm surprised to discover how many people have been told to limit wheat bread due it being hard to digest.

Thanks again for your post.

Eric