Spelt and Sourdough

A lot of time when the urge to bake with the sourdough starter hits I just make something pretty simple...flour, water, salt, sourdough starter, maybe some flax seed or whole wheat flour for variety.

Sometimes I get slightly more creative like this last time. I wanted to cook up some Irish steel cut oats and use them in the dough but the tin was almost empty. Looking in the pantry I found the spelt flakes which I add to the muesli when the package seems to have too much in the way of dried fruits and not enough grain. I've never made bread dough with cooked spelt flakes but I know that Astrid, fellow Bread Baking Babe over at Paulchens Foodblog loves spelt and adds it to most of her bread, so that's what I did.

We are finally getting rain after a long dry spell this winter. Winter is usually the season when we get most of our rain for the year, so this is very welcome rain. It does mean that much of the house is chilly, so the bread gets to rise near the new stove in the livingroom.

The rest of the bread beyond the spelt was still pretty simple: bread and whole wheat flour, salt, water, dry yeast and a bit of honey. I made enough dough for two loaves. One was in a smaller pan and it rose higher. I gave that one to Grandma Loyce since she loves freshly baked bread but says she doesn't have the bread making gene. The other has been enjoyed as toast and it does make a fantastic toast!


Spelt and Sourdough Bread

1/4 cup spelt flakes, cooked for 3 minutes in 3/4 cup water in the microwave, then cooled to tepid
1 cup sourdough starter
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon honey
3 cups bread flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt

Whisk the sourdough starter, water, honey and cooled cooked spelt together in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Mix the bread flour, whole wheat flour, yeast and salt together in another bowl.
Using paddle attachment, mix 1 cup of the flour mixture into the wet mixture in the stand mixer bowl. I used a clean hand with my fingers spread, but you could use the paddle attachment or a wooden spoon. Let sit for 10 minutes. Repeat with another cup of the flour mixture. Let sit again for 10 minutes.

Using the dough hook, incorporate two more cups of the flour mixture by 1/2 cups until a soft dough forms. If needed, use more bread flour, a tablespoon at a time, to make a dough that cleans the side of the mixer bowl. Knead with the mixer and/or by hand for 8 - 10 minutes until dough is elastic and somewhat smooth.

Place dough in oiled bowl; turn dough to oil other side. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Punch dough down and turn out onto a floured board. Knead lightly a few times to release trapped air. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a loaf shape and put into a loaf pan. Cover and let rise until almost to the top of the pans, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. about 15 minutes before bread is ready to bake.

Cut slashes in the top of the loaf, if desired, and bake in preheated oven for about an hour, until top of bread is golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when bottom is tapped. Cool on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing. Makes 2 loaves.

New Month - New Bread

It was difficult to bake bread for a while since the Bread Baker's Dog died but this past weekend it seemed like the reluctance had vanished like the early morning fog that has been keeping our temperatures so moderate.

The sourdough starter gets fed regularly even when I don't bake but it seems a shame to actually toss out the 'toss off'. When I fed it on Wednesday I took that cup of old starter and put it in a bowl, then added a cup of flour mixed with a cup of water. It sat out on the counter a couple of hours, then sat covered in the fridge until Saturday morning when the notion to bake bread pushed at me again. Once that enriched starter warmed up a bit I added another cup of flour and water mixed and let it sit for a couple of hours on the counter, again, until I had time to begin making the dough described below. You could probably start with a cup of active sourdough and add 2 cups flour mixed with 2 cups of water, let sit 2 hours and begin the dough the same day. I like to give the mixture time in the fridge to develop flavor, but it does stretch the recipe out to at least a couple of days.

One of my favorite ways to create bread is to start with a cooked and cooled grain and some sourdough starter and just go with it. This time around I cooked up some spelt, using a cup of Bob's Red Mill flattened whole grain flakes. Spelt absorbs a lot of water naturally. By cooking the grain first you get that water into the grain so that it doesn't come out of the water used to create the bread dough, plus the grains softens a bit. Just be sure to let it cool down so it doesn't mess with those yeasties. Since I had some stone-ground whole wheat flour from the Bale Grist Mill, too, I used 2 cups of that and two cups unbleached bread flour. This was a lean bread with no added butter, oil, eggs or dairy.

A little more than half of the dough went into a nice braid and the rest had about a half cup mixed seeds kneaded in...I love seedy bread...and was then shaped into a loaf.


Both were delicious! The braid probably was allowed to rise too long, or else it had amazing oven spring because the middle sort of blew out, messing up the braid a bit. Both were delicious while warm and both made great toast. I had some of the seedy bread for lunch today with peanut butter, mayo and bananas and it was super good!


You can substitute your favorite grain for the spelt...oatmeal works really well and so does mixed grain flakes...by cooking it the way you would for breakfast cereal, then letting it cool. If it lumps up try to break the lumps up before adding to the sourdough starter mixture. You can also use a different grain for the whole wheat flour if you like. As always, pay attention to the dough, letting a cup or so at a time of flour incorporate as you go so that you don't add too much. If in doubt, use less flour than you think you need rather than more than you think you need. The yeast will thank you with a nice artisan crumb.

I'm sending this over the Yeastspotting, Susan of Wild Yeast's weekly yeasted bread collection. If you love yeasted baked goods you will love Yeastspotting...check it out!


Stone-ground Whole Wheat Sourdough with Spelt and Seeds - makes two loaves

1 cup sourdough starter
2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 cups water, divided

Cereal:
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup spelt flakes

1 tablespoon honey
2 1/4 cups bread flour (white, unbleached)
2 cups stone ground wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
spray cooking oil
1.2 cup mixed seeds (poppy, sesame, flax, sunflower, etc)
1 egg
1 teaspoon water
seed for the top (optional)

In a medium bowl combine 1 cup of the all-purpose flour with 1 cup of the water and whisk until smooth. In a larger bowl, whisk that mixture into 1 cup sourdough starter until fully combined. Let the mixture sit out, uncovered, on the counter for 2 hours. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to three days.

Remove the mixture from the fridge, uncover and let warm up. Whisk to combine the more liquid part with the more solid part. In a medium bowl combine 1 cup of the all-purpose flour with 1 cup of the water and whisk until smooth. Add this mixture to the mixture that was in the fridge and whisk to combine well. Let the mixture sit out, uncovered, on the counter for 2 hours.

While the sourdough mixture is sitting on the counter, put the 1 1/2 cups cereal water in a small pot. When it comes to a boil, whisk in the spelt flakes. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover with a pot lid, and let cool completely.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the sourdough that has sat for 2 hours at room temperature, the cooled cooked spelt (be sure to break up any lumps that formed in the cooled cooked spelt before adding to the the sourdough mixture),and the honey. Stir with a spoon to combine.

In a large bowl or measuring cup combine the bread flour, stone ground whole wheat flour, and salt. Stir 1 cup of this mixture into the bowl with the sourdough mixture until combined.

Place the stand mixer bowl with the sourdough mixture into the stand mixer and attach the dough hook. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture a cup at a time until there is only about a cup left not added. Be sure the flour mixture is incorporated into the dough before add the next cup. Now start adding the flour mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time. The dough should be all the way up the dough hook and starting the clean the sides of the bowl as it kneads. Continue to add the flour mixture as needed , but add less flour rather than more if in doubt.

Let the machine knead the dough for 5-8 minutes once all the flour has been added. Then turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand another few minutes. Dough will be satiny but not smooth (due to the spelt).

Use spray oil to oil a large bowl or rising container. Shape the dough into a ball and place in the bowl. Turn to coat the ball completely with oil. Cover (I use a shower cap or plastic wrap) and let rise in a warm draft free place until doubled in bulk about 1.5 to 2 hours.

Turn risen dough out onto a lightly floured board. Use a bench scraper or knife to divide the dough in two.( I had one part slightly larger than the other so that I could make a good sized braid and a smaller loaf.) Punch down to de-gas. Return one piece of dough to the rising bowl or container.

Shape the first piece of dough as you like. To make a braid, divide the dough into thirds, roll each with the palms and fingers spread to make a rope about 14 inches long. Line the three ropes up on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Starting in the middle, braid the strands as you would hair. Turn the baking sheet and braid the other half. Tuck the ends under, cover and let rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

To the second piece of dough add the seeds. My favorite method is to pat the dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick, sprinkle about 1/2 of the seeds over the dough, then roll up like a jelly roll. Fold the ends of the roll toward the center and then flatten the dough again into a rectangle. Sprinkle on the rest of the seeds, roll up jelly roll fashion again, then knead the dough for a minute to distribute the seeds. Flatten the dough one more time and shape into a loaf. Place in a greased loaf pan and let rise, covered, until doubled in bulk and the pan is filled with dough. Usually the loaf will rise over the top of the pan in the oven (oven spring) so I bake it when it has reached the rim of the pan.

If you like you can coat one or both loaves with egg wash. I also added some poppy seeds on the top of the seedy loaf and decided to not wash the braid since I liked the floury look of it.

Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F. oven for about 55 minutes, or until bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, or when instant read thermometer is about 200.

Let baked bread cool on a rack. If you can resist cutting into the bread until it has cooled somewhat. The lovely fragrance of yeasted bread makes it difficult not to gobble it up right away but the texture is much better when it is cooler.

Read the Recipe

Also, try not to bake bread late in the afternoon after a full day of deck demolition (or similar physical exertion). Well, that's true if you are me...maybe you are made of sturdier stuff.

Today's post is dedicated to Saint Hildegard von Bingen, who probably was made of sturdier stuff. Saint Hildegard von Bingen lived from 1098 to 1179 in Germany. She was head of an abbey, she corresponded with numerous important people of her time including kings and the Pope, and was also a healer and a mystic. She had firm beliefs about God and about eating. The Bread Baking Babes, for their last post of the first three years, are baking her Spelt Bread today. Jump over to our Kitchen of the Month, Astrid's blog Paulchen's Foodblog, for more information on both Hildegard and her bread.

This is an unusual bread because the sponge is barely wet...actually it is like dry crumbs... and the dough is stiff but you can see the gluten strands, too, when you knead it after adding more water, and my two bread pans of dough rose almost to the top by the time I put them in the oven. At that point it was 8 pm and my brain apparently had turned in early. The directions call for a 200 degree oven for 15 minutes, followed by a 195 degree oven for another half hour. What I was too tired to realize was those degrees were in Celsius, not Fahrenheit! My poor bread never stood a chance being baked at such a low temperature (should have been 350 degrees and 325 degrees Fahrenheit). By the time I figured it out it was almost 10 pm so I baked them another half hour this morning at the correct temperatures to finish cooking them. The results (caved in at the middle) do not honor Hildegard nor Astrid. This Babe should probably be on my knees saying the rosary in penance, but I'm hoping that Hildegard's spirit will be kind and that when I make it again, with the correct oven temperatures, that it will be the lovely bread it should be.

The recipe is at Astrid's site and you can send her your links once you have baked it yourself to be a Babe Buddy. You have until the 29th for that and if you remember to use the correct oven temperature you will have a delicious, moist, fairly dense bread perfect for toast and open-faced sandwiches.

Be sure to check back next month on the 16th to see how the Babes celebrate their anniversary...three years! There will soon be some information on Facebook, too. Since I don't do Facebook (I know, Neanderthal!) you will have to visit another Babe...like Karen of Bake My Day...to find out all the deets. In the meantime you can use the links in the bar to the right to visit any of the other Babes and see how much better they did with the Spelt Bread. Thank you Astrid for choosing this bread. Even when twice baked the way I did it the bread is delicious if a little gummy.

Oh, in case you were wondering about the demo, Sweetie and I spent Saturday removing a decayed deck off the bedroom of the old farmhouse and then the old deck between the old farmhouse and the laundry room in preparation for termite treatment. The demo of the bedroom window deck was complicated by having to remove lots of ivy (uugh) and part of an overgrown rose bush. Which is worse...ivy snarls, rose thorns, or rotting wood?

Strangely enough I find I like demolition and have become quite good at pulling old nails from lumber. Moving soil, another part of the day, was less fun. The soil had become built up between the joists of the larger deck, due to our active gopher population. Since those joists are sound we wanted to dry them out so that we can re-use them for new decking later this year. Never a dull moment here!

Birthday Treat

I know that it's March and the big round number birthday was in February, but it's taken me a few days to process the photos from my birthday treat.

You're probably thinking that the treat was food related...after all this IS a food blog...but no, it was house and garden related and photo opportunity related and SPRING related.

Since the weather around here has been rainy for over a month, spring is late in showing up, but we had ONE lovely, springlike, blue sky day last week and it was, miraculously, on the day of the treat.

Sweetie, our daughter and I traveled a while and arrived at Filoli, a National Historic Trust property south of San Francisco, and directly south of the beautiful Crystal Springs Reservoir.

We were there for the first day of the season and for the Daffodil Days event. We had signed up for the Photography and Painting in the Garden segment, plus the house and garden tour, so had lots of opportunities for beautiful photos.

The first photo at the top of the post is from the gardens and this one is from one of the grand rooms in the house. Both are for Ruby Tuesday. You can see what it is all about over at Work of the Poet. Plenty of red in that flower. There is less on the figure, but that rich Chinese red is especially lovely.

Today's header is also from a photo taken of the meadow of daffodils at Filoli. If the weather had been warmer in the preceding days, there would likely have been more flower in the meadow, but it was still quite beautiful.

If you ever get the opportunity to visit this property, make the time if you love formal gardens, garden rooms, Georgian architecture, or a safe in the butler's pantry to store all the silverware. That safe is almost as big as my whole kitchen. Sigh. Imagine having that much money. Thankfully they got their tax write off and the public got a wonderful place to visit.

Just so you won't think that food has taken a vacation, too, here is a recipe for some Rosemary Knot Rolls that I made for dinner last night. They went very well with our pasta and turkey meatballs and salad.

Rosemary Knot Rolls

Makes 8 - 10 rolls

1 cup sourdough starter at room temperature

3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1 tablespoon olive oil (plus about the same to glaze the rolls before baking)

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 1/2 cups spelt or whole wheat flour

1 1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons finely minced fresh rosemary (about 2 stalks)

1 tablespoon sea salt

Put the sourdough starter in the bowl of a stand mixer. With a wooden spoon, mix in the buttermilk, olive oil, egg, and 1/2 cup each of the spelt and all-purpose flours. Attach the bowl to the mixer and attach the dough hook. On one or two, mix in the remaining flour, salt , and rosemary. Knead with the dough hook until the dough is fairly smooth and elastic, and cleans the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured smooth surface and knead another few minutes to fully incorporate the rosemary.

Cut the dough into eight or ten pieces. Roll each piece into a snake shape, then tie in a knot by crossing the length over itself about half way and tucking one of the ends through the hole. Lay the rolls on parchment or silicon mat lined baking sheet. Cover with a tea cloth and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Oil the tops of the rolls lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with the sea salt.

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until rolls are slightly browned. Serve warm.

If these resemble a recipe from anywhere else, my subconscious must have retained it because I really didn't consult any recipe while making these.

Spelt and Bluberries Spiff Up Muffins

When Sweetie and I visited Calistoga for our anniversary last month, one of the places we visited was the Bale Grist Mill a little south of town. A strong volunteer group and lots of enthusiasm and some grants have made it possible for this old mill with a 30 foot water wheel to be restored. It's really fun to see the wheel spinning and the water falling as it turns, and to see the mill stones turning and the milled grain spilling into the bags. Makes you appreciated how easy it is to just purchase flour at the store anytime you want it. The State Park docents are very enthused and explain how it all works, also giving a lot of history and milling terms, like 'nose to the grindstone'. The miller keeps his nose close to the grindstone because if the stones get too close together that can damage the grinding surface...and you can tell only by smell that they are getting to close. If you get to the Calistoga - St. Helena area of Napa, make time to visit if you can.

The day we were there they were milling polenta. In the gift shop I was able to purchase some of the polenta and some spelt flour, too. I've been reading about spelt and wanted to try baking with some spelt flour. Wikipedia gives the following information (through"green grain"):

Spelt, an ancient grain, is pretty healthy. It contains about 57.9 percent carbohydrates (excluding 9.2 percent fibre), 17.0 percent protein and 3.0 percent fat, as well as dietary minerals and vitamins.[9] As it contains a moderate amount of gluten, it is suitable for baking. In Germany, the unripe spelt grains are dried and eaten as Grünkern, which literally means "green grain". It predates bread wheat, which may have been hybridized from spelt.

This weekend is chilly and rainy. We invited Grandma L to breakfast and I made some Spelt Blueberry Muffins to go with the scrambled eggs and fruit bowl and coffee. Since spelt doesn't have a lot of gluten, I used all-purpose flour for 3/4 of the flour and used spelt flour for 1/4. I added some lemon zest and lemon juice, an overflowing cup of fresh blueberries and both baking soda and baking powder, plus egg substitute and buttermilk. The muffins are not very sweet because they only have 2 tablespoons of sugar, so they would be great with the addition of some honey or even lemon curd.

The spelt added a nutty flavor and some nice texture.The muffins were a little flatter than usual, but really delish.

Spelt Blueberry Muffins

makes 12 muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup spelt flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

finely grated zest of one lemon

1 egg, beaten or 1/4 cup egg substitute

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

juice of 1/2 lemon, seeds removed

1 cup buttermilk

1 heaping cup fresh blueberries, washed and drained

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with baking spray. Set aside.

In a bowl, sift the dry ingredients together. Add the lemon zest and stir to distribute.

In a second bowl, whisk together the egg, butter, lemon juice and buttermilk.

Add the blueberries to the dry ingredients and gently stir to coat with the flour mixture. Add the wet ingredient mixture all at once and stir together with a fork, just until all the dry ingredients have been moistened. Don't overmix.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins, distributing evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes until tops are golden brown.

Eat while still warm. Garnish with butter, honey and/or lemon curd if desired.