February 8, 2016 - 7:19pm
Spelt 101
Hi Yall.
I went to Whole Paycheck Market (hehe) today and bought 10# stone ground whole grain spelt from the bulk bin. Ive never used it and after searching spelt i see theres a lot of info but cant necessarily find the general info im looking for. Basically looking for some rough guidelines.
-Can i substitute it directly with WW in a blended dough?
- Does it hydrate similarly to WW? More/Less adjustments needed?
-Ive heard high %'s can lead to spreading. More S&Fs?
Any info or basic tips greatly appreciated.
Happy Baking!
Bart
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...and modern what flours:
Spelt has less of the protein glutenin, so the dough is extensible, due to the gliadin, but not very elastic. Hence the spreading. No amount of working will change that.
The other is that the final proof should be shorter than for modern wheat. Leave it too long and it'll happily collapse on you.
There are a few minor differences but nothing which would require you to make any changes in your production method. E.g. better flavour than modern wheat and a different texture in the finished loaf.
if you aren't using a lot of it in the mix,it isn't a problem. We have had some challenge breads here with spelt at 100% hydration . Fun to do but Frisbees result
.
Happy baking eith spelt
Last night i started an Overnight Country Brown (from FWSY). Substituted 40% ww for Spelt. Did four stretch and folds. could definitely feel the difference in elasticity. Left it to bulk ferment at room temp while i snoozed a bit. After about a total BF of 5 1/2 hours i divided and shaped them and now proofing in the fridge since about 5:30am.
I assume the shorter proofing time is more of an issue in a proofing box or at room temp? or is it shorter when retarded as well? My plan had been about a 12 hour proof.
Excited to see how they turn out! As always thanks for the info, this site and its members never cease to amaze!
Bart
too. Watch it closely after about 8 hours
I make 100% (sourdough) spelt loaves 3 times a week - can't really add much to the above - a little lower hydration helps and a bit of honey to lift the flavour a little. I mostly prove in bannetons and bake well before I would expect it to be fully proved if it were wheat. My mix is 30% wholemeal spelt and 100% white spelt. (The starter is 100% white spelt)
On a good day I get these:
Not every day is a good day though - let them over prove and they spread more...
Good luck with your bake!
-Gordon
So with your experience do you recommend a shorter proof even when retarding? I simply chose that route for convenience and maybe build a little more flavor. Any suggestions?
Well I don't retard the spelt loaves...
I started making spelts about 2 years ago - some of the locals were asking about it, so I gave it a go and I think I just got lucky with my mix as I didn't have much to go on then. I now use 30% starter in the mix, mix & knead in the evening, let ferment overnight (usually about 9pm to 6am - so 9 hours) in a room where I know the temperature is at approx. 18°C in winter, then in the morning scale/shape/prove/bake. I do sometimes get bursts/splits - which seem worse with over proofing. The honey makes it a little sticky to sometimes tricky to handle when shaping...
So a small loaf is 275g flour (83g wholemeal 193g white), 100%, 83g starter (30%), 143g water (52%), 14g honey (5%), 4g salt (1.5%). My starter lives in the fridge and for 1-4 loaves I have enough to use directly from the jar. Saturday I often make 6, so make a levian with 100g starter, 200g flour + 200g water - I make that mid afternoon and use it in the evening. I usually make 3-6 small loaves a day. Occasionally a large when the total flour is 500g.
Bake is into a fan oven at 250°C or the Rofco set to 220°C with steam - if using the fan oven, I turn the loaves round and turn it down to 210°C after 12-15 minutes. Total bake time is about 35 minutes.
It's a straight through process - no retarding as it works in with my other breads (I do the microbakery thing, making 20-40ish loaves a day for local shops and markets) I have wondered if making up the dough in the morning, letting it ferment through the day, then shaping and retarding at that point - mid afternoon would result in a slightly firmer dough the following morning at bake time, but not had the time to try it out.
I've always been tempted to just throw it in a tin - which most of the other bakeries round here do with their spelt, but I do find it quite satisfying to do them in bannetons - I just have to remember to use spelt or rye flour when dusting them rather than wheat as they are liked by a few wheat intolerant people here.
-Gordon
I've posted this link before > http://wholelifestylenutrition.com/recipes/how-to-make-a-real-sourdough-spelt-loaf/. I use this recipe quite a bit, and it always turns out lovely. Here's a photo of one of mine:
that I founds at Goodwill for a buck on dollar Thursdays! I use mine as a pot over dough on stone cloche though. Works great.
And the recipe you're using is not that far from mine with a few tweaks. Much less starter, but more ferment time with the stretch & folds)
Cheers,
-Gordon
Pulled them after 8 hours. seemed approaching overproof. A little sticky coming out of the bannetons, had to coax them out carefully after gravity and a little tapping didnt quite do it. there was definite spreading. it was hairy getting them into the dutch ovens but after first 30 mins lid came off and im pretty happy. we'll see in another 20 minutes or so.
Bart
When I make a spelt bread I generally go for 100 percent or nearly so. Here's an easy recipe that requires sourdough starter. I am now looking for spelt berries, but my local Whole Foods does not carry them. Probably will go the mail order route.
how in the heck do you post pics in a comment? using a link in the image button just shows a broken picture frame...