My Little Simple Fun Blog: Sourdough Spelt Artisan Bread

Modern wheat is not the same as wheat in the past. Present day wheat crop has been cultivated to produce higher yield and its nutrition and protein composition has also changed. How wheat is processed also makes it less nutritious. In the past, grains used to be soaked, sprouted or fermented. The bread dough also went through a slow and long fermentation process, which makes the bread is more easily digestible.

After learning about those facts just mentioned, I'm slowly adding more ancient grains, which are less tempered with, into my bakes. Spelt (斯佩尔特小麦) is one of them. Spelt is an ancient grain with several health benefits. Although it contains gluten like wheat, it is more water soluble and higher in fibre makes it more digestible then wheat. The higher mineral contents of spelt aids our blood circulation and helps build strong bones.

In this recipe, only 16% of wheat flour has been replaced with spelt flour and baked using a different baking method. The dough is baked straight after retarding in the fridge - cold dough into preheated dutch oven. The oven spring is pretty good. More spelt flour will be incorporated in future recipes.

Further reading: Health benefits of sourdough & How to make sourdough starter

Ingredients

72g Active Sourdough starter
140g Bread flour
30g Spelt flour
10g Rye flour
100g Water (63% hydration)

2g Salt
12g Butter

Instructions

1. Add sourdough starter and water into the stand-mixer bowl (I'm using KitchenAid)
2. Using a wooden chopstick, stir to mix well.
3. Add all the flour and stir well.

4. Use our hands to briefly knead the dough until a shaggy mass is formed.

5. Autolyse for 45min - 1hour.
6. Add salt.
7. On speed 1, using the dough hook, knead the dough for 2min. Rest 1min
8. On speed 2, knead the dough for 3min. Rest 1min.
9. On speed 2, knead the dough for 3min. Rest 1min.
10. On speed 2, knead the dough for 2min.
11. A windowpane test. Rest 15min.

12. Add butter. On speed 2, knead the dough for 3min.

13. Transfer the dough into a glass bowl.

14. Cover the dough. After 30min, perform a stretch & fold and repeat 4times. Proof another 30min.

15. Pre-shape the dough into a boule.

16. Cover and rest the dough for 15min.

17. Final shape the dough into boule, using tension pull.

18. Dust a proofing basket with rice flour. This is my homemade proofing basket, a plastic bowl and a linen cloth fastened to it.

19. Place the boule into the proofing basket with its seams facing upwards.

20. Proof the dough 30min. I placed the proofing basket into my oven with the light switched on.

21. Cover the dough and finish proofing it in the fridge for 8hr-12hr.

22. Preheat the oven with the dutch oven to 240°C for 40min.

23. Tip the proofed dough onto parchment paper.

24. Score the dough.

25. Take the dutch oven out from the oven.

26. Remove the lid of the dutch oven and carefully lower the baking paper together with the dough, into the dutch oven.

27. Put the lid back and put the dutch oven in the oven.

28. Bake for 35min at 220°C (the highest my oven can reach with a dutch oven in it). As I don't like my bread to brown too much, I normally won't bake my bread too long.