making bread with spelt flour

Not tried it but I generally follow the recipe on the flour bag when I make bread (i have to make soya free bread). The Doves farm Spelt flour has a recipe on the side for bread... Both doves farm spelt flours have pics of bread on them https://www.dovesfarm.co.uk/organic/organic-homebaking-flour.htm

and the recipe list is here: https://www.dovesfarm.co.uk/organic/spelt-flour-recipies.htm if that is any help...

I've only used it in conjunction with other flour - normally a mixture of white and/or granary. There are a couple of Richard Bertinet recipes which use spelt: I could look them out for you if you want?

(I quite like it - it has a really smooth texture when it's being worked and seems lighter than other wholemeal flours that I've used.)

Thanks, both. The Dove's Farm recipe is the one I used, I'm afraid.

I might try it 50/50 with wheat flour, maybe? Mint Spies, the RB recipes would be great if you have time ?

Bertinet's Spelt Bread (health warning: I've not made this exact recipe, but he's normally fairly reliable, so I hope it works!)

1) Make a poolish (a pre-ferment):

Ingredients - 500g spelt flour, 500g water, 10g fresh yeast

Mix everything together, cover with a baking cloth or freezer bag secured with an elastic band, leave for 3-5 hours in a warm place (or overnight in the fridge)

2) Make the bread:

Ingredients - all of the poolish, 500g spelt flour, 10g fresh yeast, 20g salt, 150g water (also optional 100g spelt grains soaked overnight)

Combine the poolish with the flour, yeast, salt and water (and spelt grains if using), mix them and then work the dough until smooth and elastic. Make the dough into a ball and put it in a lightly-floured mixing bowl, covered with a cloth. Leave for 1 hour.

Divide the dough into 2 balls, cover with a cloth and leave for 15 minutes

Shape the dough into loaves, cover with a cloth and prove for 1 hour (or until just under doubled in size)

Cook in a pre-heated oven at 250 deg C for 2 mins, then turn heat down to 220 deg C and cook for another 25/30 minutes until hollow when tapped.

RB also uses spelt flour in his sourdough, which is a different type of bread altogether, but I think that's why we first bought spelt - since we've given up on sourdough the spelt gets chucked in with whatever flour we're using (I normally do half and half white to granary/spelt/seeded)

I'll give that a try, thanks! ?

I only use spelt, it makes utterly yummy bread.

My recipe:

Ingredients (makes 2 loaves or 12 rolls)

75g white bread flour

325g spelt flour

1tsp sugar

125ml milk

1tbsp dried yeast

1tsp salt

50g butter

1 egg

100g oats

3 tbsps honey

1 tsp nutmeg

Method: sift white flour and the sugar into a large bowl. Warm the milk with 75ml water, until lukewarm, and sprinkle in the yeast. Pour this into the flour and sugar and gently beat. Leave the bowl in a warm place, covered in a damp cloth or tea towel until frothy.

Sift the rest of the flour, nutmeg and the salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter. Add oats and honey. Beat the egg into your frothy yeast mixture (which should have doubled in size) and add to the rest. Mix into a soft dough. On a floured surface, kneed for five minutes.

Pop the dough back in the bowl, cover in cling film and leave in a warm place until it has doubled in bulk.

Knead the dough again until firm. Shape as you like. Place oin a floured baking sheet and cover with lightly oiled cling film. Leave again until dough has doubled. Heat oven to around gas 8 and put in bread. Turn straight down to 6 and bake until golden brown (you may have to lower to five for loaves, towards the end). Brush a little warm milk over the top to glaze.

If your result is not a giant loafgasm, I will eat a nappy.