July 13, 2007 - 8:37am

Spelt Breads
I was pleased to read here that spelt breads are quite tasty (for some reason I thought they'd taste like cardboard - or worse). How does working with spelt compare with working with wheat? For that matter, is spelt actually a different form of wheat, or botanically a different grain? Is it usually tolerated by individuals who can't have wheat? Is there a treatise on baking with spelt somewhere? Have I asked enough questions yet? :D Do I really have to quit now and get some work done? Uh, yes. :(
Hi Kippercat
Spelt is far from cardboard!
It depends WHY you can't eat wheat - spelt has gluten so is a no-no if that's the problem. Me and my Dad are probably intolerent of one of the modern wheat-proteins so get on great with spelt; a friend of mine struggles with modern wheat starches and doesn't find it helps much. Quite often spelt is organic and some people think its the pesticides on/in modern wheat that are the problem ........
Everything I make uses either wholemeal or white spelt so feel free to rummage in my posts and blog - any recipes I've posted are yours!
In general:
Enjoy! Helend :)
Thanks Helen, I'll take a look. I'm sort of borderline on wheat. It bothered me a lot many years ago, then didn't seem to have any effect. But since I've been baking so much, my tummy has been acting up so maybe I'll give it a try.
By the way, I mentioned spelt bread to my husband this AM. I guess it doesn't sound any more appetizing to him than it did to me. He said that if I ever make it not to tell him what it is before he tries it - or he won't like it for sure!
KipperCat, I felt the same way about "spelt" - sounded like something I didn't want to mix with. Then I tried Eric's version of the no knead bread with spelt, see Breadtopia. I did substitute a cup of bread flour which helped with the crumb and the bread was delicious. I'll definitely use it again, A