Buttermilk-Spelt Sourdough Bread
I have been baking often but have settled on a handful of breads that I most enjoy eating. I have posted on all of them here over the years, in some cases multiple times documenting minor variations. But this week I saw a bread on another online forum that grabbed my attention and instantly went to the top of my ridiculously long "To Bake" list. It turns out that my intuition was spot on. This turned out to be an extraordinarily delicious bread.
Buttermilk-Spelt Sourdough Bread
from Cecilia Agni Hadiyanto on Facebook
Total Dough
Ingredient | Wt (g) | Bakers % |
Hi-gluten flour | 38.5 | 7 |
Whole Wheat flour | 11 | 2 |
Whole Rye flour | 5.5 | 1 |
All Purpose (AP) flour | 300 | 54 |
Whole Spelt flour | 200 | 36 |
Water | 55 | 10 |
Buttermilk | 425 | 76 |
Salt | 10 | 2 |
Total | 1045 | 188 |
Levain
Ingredient | Wt (g) | Bakers % |
Hi-gluten flour | 38.5 | 70 |
Whole Wheat flour | 11 | 20 |
Whole Rye Flour | 5.5 | 10 |
Water | 55 | 100 |
Active starter | 22 | 40 |
Total | 132 | 240 |
- Dissolve the active starter in the water.
- Add the flours and mix thoroughly.
- Place in a clean container with a tight lid and ferment at room temperature until doubled in volume.
- If not ready to mix the final dough, you can refrigerate the levain for up to 3 days.
Final Dough
Ingredient | Wt (g) |
Whole grain Spelt flour | 200 |
AP flour | 300 |
Buttermilk | 425 |
Active liquid levain | 110 |
Salt | 10 |
Total | 1045 |
Procedure
- Mix all of the ingredients except the salt to a shaggy mass in a medium bowl and cover.
- Autolyse for 30-120 minutes.
- Sprinkle the salt over the dough and incorporate completely. (I use the pinch and fold method described by Forkish in “Flour Water Salt Yeast.”)
- Bulk ferment at 76-80ºF until double in volume (about 4-8 hours, depending on temperature) with Stretch & Fold in the bowl at 30 and 60 minutes and a lamination fold on the board at 120 minutes).
- Pre-shape round and cover. Let rest for 20 minutes or so.
- Shape as boule or bâtard and place in a floured banneton. Cover with a towel or place in a food grade plastic bag.
- Proof for 1-2 hours at room temperature, then cold retard for 12-18 hours.
- Bake in a Dutch oven at 460ºF covered for 20 minutes. Uncover. Continue baking at 420ºF for 30 minutes. (The falling temperature approach is because this bread tends to darken very quickly due to the buttermilk. So keep an eye on it and adjust your oven temperature accordingly.)
- Cool on a rack thoroughly before slicing.
This bread has an extraordinary flavor. It is a bit nutty and earthy and very sour. (Remember its hydration is basically all buttermilk.) My wife says it smells like rye, and, in fact, it tastes like rye. It must be the spelt. I like it a lot.
Happy baking!
David