Whole spelt and whole rye with wheat berries
First experiment using wheat berries. Flours include 150g each of whole spelt, whole rye and all purpose. 33% of the flour was in the 100% hydration poolish. Total hydration is 78%.
Additions included 50g dry weight each of wheat berries and spelt berries. The berries were simmered for 30-40 minutes and absorbed twice their weight in water. The simmered and hydrated berries were added with no changes made to the formula. 20g each of sesame, sunflower and flax seeds were also added.
18 hour poolish, 18 hour autolyse (flour and berries), 3 hour refrigerated bulk ferment and 1 hour warm and moist shaped proof.
Baked 1hr 20minutes at 420F.
Overall result is similar to my previous loaves with whole spelt and whole rye. Moderate oven spring with creamy crumb and crunchy crust, aided by the berries and seeds on the outside. Flavor is typically spelt-like - "nutty" which is accentuated by the berries and seeds. The berry texture is not as pronounced as I would like, need to keep searching for this.
It looks nutty and very flavorful.
Once, long ago I made a whole wheat bread w a lot of simmered whole wheat berries, which I love. I've been thinking about doing something like that again.
I'm overwhelmed by the bakes posted today. just amazing! I envy everyone's courage in just adding stuff. I've only done that once, but your bake has me thinking I should just go ahead and try.
Lovely loaf
hester
and chewy with those scalded berries in there too. Just the kind of bread we love around here. Well done and happy baking
Thanks folks. Spelt is truly wonderful. I have eaten a lot of it in my work travels to Germany, particularly during a 3 month extended project earlier this year. I'm glad to be able to bring this bread home to enjoy.
Thinking about a panned spelt loaf next time, with a higher percentage of spelt.