Simple Spelt Sourdough Bread Recipe
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Jan 11, 2024 • 3 min read
Learn how to make sourdough bread with spelt flour, a whole-grain flour that’s more nutritious and flavorful than all-purpose flour. A soft, spelt loaf is great for sandwich bread.
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What Is Spelt?
Spelt (Triticum spelta), also known as dinkel or hulled wheat, is one of the oldest cultivated grains in the world.The nutritious whole grain is considered one of the ancestors of modern wheat. Spelt flour is a nutritious flour packed with dietary fiber, protein, calcium, and potassium and has a sweet, nutty flavor.
Stone-ground spelt flour comes in two forms: Whole grain spelt flour, and white spelt flour. Baking with whole grain spelt flour is a bit like working with whole wheat flour, with its coarser texture. White spelt flour is ground without the outer bran or germ, resulting in a finer-textured, lighter flour that is a better substitute for all-purpose flour.
What Is Spelt Sourdough Bread?
Spelt sourdough bread is a sourdough bread made using spelt flour and natural yeast. Sourdough bread is a blanket bread-baking term for breads made with a living culture of natural, wild yeast, rather than commercial yeast.
Spelt flour has less gluten than wheat flour or white flour and tends to flatten after baking, so you can mix in bread flour to help the spelt sourdough bread keep its shape. Spelt flour is more water-soluble and has higher hydration than all-purpose flour or bread flour, so many spelt sourdough recipes require a smaller amount of water than other sourdough recipes. This whole wheat sourdough still has a brown, crispy exterior and a soft, open crumb, making it a great sandwich bread.
Spelt Sourdough Bread Recipe
makes
1 loafprep time
1 hr 47 mintotal time
2 hr 32 mincook time
45 minIngredients
- 1
Whisk together sourdough starter or levain starter and water in a large bowl. Add the flours, mixing with a spatula or your hands until the flour is completely incorporated. The dough should be rough and sticky. Sprinkle salt on top of the dough. Cover with a damp kitchen towel and let rise for 30 minutes. (This step is called an autolyse, and both aids in the production of both gluten and adds flavor.)
- 2
After the dough rests, knead the dough in the bowl for 2 minutes with your hands to build the gluten. Fold the dough, using a wet hand to reach under the dough, pulling the bottom of the dough up, and folding it up over itself. This set of stretches will give your sourdough loaf a better texture than kneading with a mixer or by hand. Rotate the bowl in four-quarter turns, folding after each turn. Repeat this process every 30 minutes, 3 more times.
- 3
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature until doubled in size, about 6 hours.
- 4
After the bulk fermentation, turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Flip dough over and shape: Using floured hands, gently pull dough towards yourself and fold it upwards over itself, folding in half. Pull the non-folded side to fold in half again. Fold a third time. Rotate 90 degrees and fold a fourth time. Rotate 45 degrees, pull towards yourself, and fold a fifth time. Pull the dough towards yourself in the other direction and fold a sixth time. Rotate 90 degrees and fold a seventh time. Fold in the other direction, for a total of eight folds.
- 5
Place in proofing baskets (known as banneton) or cloth-lined bowls dusted with flour and cover with a clean cloth or tea towel. Let dough rest for 2 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the refrigerator, for the final proof.
- 6
Place the Dutch oven inside the oven and preheat to 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven and gently add the dough to the pot. You can add a piece of parchment paper to the bottom of the Dutch oven to prevent the bread from sticking.
- 7
Score the bread with a razor blade, cutting a 2-3 inch slit in the top of the bread. Place the lid on your Dutch oven, and return to the oven. Reduce temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and bake bread for 20 minutes.
- 8
Remove the lid of the Dutch oven and bake the bread for another 23-25 minutes, until the crust is brown. Cool your loaf of bread on a wire rack.
Note: This recipe includes 10 hrs 45 mins of inactive time.
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