Hildegard's 100% Spelt Bread

Photo: Michelle Stiles

Ingredients

400 grams spelt flakes

600 grams whole spelt flour

15 grams salt

40 grams fresh yeast (16 grams instant yeast)

200 milliliters milk, lukewarm (I used soy milk....)

500 milliliters water, lukewarm

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon sunflowerseed oil

Preparation

Mix spelt flakes and spelt flour with the salt. Dissolve yeast in milk and combine everything to a sponge. Cover the bowl with a hand towel and let rest for about 15-20 minutes. It is crumbly.

Add water and lemon juice to the sponge and knead for at least 15 minutes gradually adding the sunflower oil. I was laughing when I first started with the big blob of goo. It did come together, have faith and patience. It is not every day you get to play with gakky goo. Have fun.

Form dough ball and coat with warm water. I placed mine in a bowl.

Cover again with a hand towel and let double in size. About an hour.

Knead for another 2-3 minutes.

Cut dough in 2 equal halves and place each in a baking pan.

Cut the surface of both breads about 5 mm deep and let rise again until doubled in size. I left it for about 30 minutes.

Bake the first 15 minutes at 200 °C [400F], then lower heat to 195 °C [385F] and bake for another 30 minutes.