annebarone.com
French Chic & Slim
21 January 2016
New Method Spelt Bread Baking
Quite by accident I discovered a new, better way of baking spelt bread. Since I switched to spelt flour, I had been having problems with the top center sinking. (See loaf on left.) I had read that spelt did not tolerate as much kneading as wheat flour. But with a bread machine, I couldn’t do much besides choose the Basic setting that had the shortest kneading time. That was still too much kneading for my spelt dough.
A couple of weeks ago, the electricity went off when spelt dough was rising in my bread machine. By the time the electricity resumed, the dough had risen to baking height. I was about to take it out of the machine, reshape, allow to rise and then bake in my gas oven. But that was a lot of work—and besides it would delay the bread (and my supper) an extra hour or more.
Instead, I remembered that I had a bake-only setting on the bread machine. I plugged in the machine, set the machine for Bake Only. Unsure of the results, I was prepared for disaster. But no.
The spelt bread did not top collapse (see photo on right), and the texture was better than with the longer kneading. Taste was also better.
Since then, I have been preparing the dough by mixing and kneading in the bread machine. When that first 10 minute mix-kneading session finishes, I unplug the machine, let the dough rise to baking height. Then I plug in the machine and select Bake Only. In 1 hour, I have excellent spelt bread. I am really happy not to have that sinkhole in the top of my loaf anymore.
image: Bread machine spelt bread. Left: 3 kneadings in machine. Right: 10 minute kneading only.
be chic, stay slim — Anne Barone