Quest for Extremely Healthy Spelt Rye Sourdough Recipe
Hi Fresh Loaf community,
I'm on a quest to find a recipe for an extremely healthy spelt rye sourdough bread recipe. I'm seeking your input on a recipe guideline.
Here's the background: I've been following this site for more than 7 years and I absolutely love seeing everyone's hard work. While I do a lot of cooking on a daily/weekly basis, I've only successfully baked the classic Tartine Country Loaf on a few occasions. For the last 2-3 years, I've been really eating as close to Whole 30 style as possible (which means no bread). But a bite of a good sourdough bread is one of my favorites tastes on earth! So, I'd like to incorporate small amounts of healthy bread back into my weekly eating program.
My main goal is to create a loaf of bread that optimizes health, taste, and cost. Obviously, any form of gluten does not qualify for Whole 30, but I'd love for a nutritionist approve of this bread recipe.
I'm going to list why I think a spelt rye sourdough might be best and my thoughts/methods for a quality recipe. I'd love the TFL community's input on all the topics below:
Why I Think A Spelt Rye Sourdough Bread is Healthiest:
- Spelt/Rye breads are typically high in fiber. Maximizing fiber content is one of my goals for this recipe. My thinking is "well... if your body doesn't like accepting gluten, this bread will at least pass through you quickly". ;)
- Fermented foods are recommended by nutritionists for good gut health. I wouldn't put a baked loaf of sourdough bread into the "fermented foods" category, but I have a hunch that using the fermented sourdough starter is healthier than not using it in a bread recipe.
- While some breads may be best suited for wheat/white flour, Spelt/Rye recipes can really be a canvas for incorporating various multi-grain ingredients.
But maybe someone is aware of a healthier bread that isn't too far off from standard sourdough bread prep?
Methods/Thoughts for a Quality Recipe:
- I want to use a sourdough starter. I think a 50% white/50% wheat starter is what I'll use. But maybe someone recommends only using spelt flour for such a starter?
- More research is being done lately that suggests eating seeds is not good for your body to digest. So, if I use any seeds in this recipe, I'd love to first soak them and then blend/food process them until they reach a paste or sauce-like texture that can be added to the dough. Or seed that have been ground.
- Spelt/Ryes often include alcohol (like beer) in the recipe. I want to exclude alcohol.
- Spelt/Ryes often include a sweetener like molasses, syrup, honey, or treacle. I want to exclude all these sweeteners and get creative. I'd love to create a reduction sauce from soaked prunes/dates/figs to make a sweetener that resembles molasses. Has anyone ever tried making an all-natural sweetener in this fashion?
- I also think Spelt/Rye breads keep in the freezer really well. I'll probably slice up the remaining bread, put it in the freezer, and pull it out for a quick pan fry.
Final Recipe
I think my final recipe will look something like this (but would love any kind of input from the community):
- XX% of spelt flour (I'm currently considering Nature's Legacy VitaSpelt Non-GMO Whole Grain Spelt)
- XX% of rye flour (I'm currently considering Hodgson Mill All Natural Rye Flour)
- XX% of sourdough starter
- XX% of salt
- Optional but likely: XX% of ground flax seed
- Optional but likely: XX% of prune reduction sauce homemade sweetener
My recipe inspirations are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3qDLrpQh10 [1]'
Renee's Rye Bread from Tartine No. 3
In honor of meal prep, I'd love to make 2-4 loaves like this every other Sunday: