Bread is one of the oldest baked foods. It is genuinely good for you, being rich in vitamins (particularly the B group), calcium, iron and trace elements, it is also a useful source of protein. Spelt, originally introduced into Britain by the Romans, has a higher fibre content and less gluten than ordinary wheat, making it a very healthy option. Growing in popularity you can now find Spelt flour in most farm and organic shops. This is a simple recipe and a great introduction to delicious home baked bread. You could also use wholewheat or rye flour instead of spelt flour.

15g Yeast
550g Spelt Flour
200g Plain white flour
1tbsp Sea Salt
1 beaten Free Range egg
500ml lukewarm water

Method:
In a large bowl, mix 15g of yeast with 4tbsp of lukewarm water, add 2tbsp of plain flour and stir to a smooth paste. Leave to rest under a tea towel for about 20 minutes at room temperature.

Slowly stir in the rest of the water and add both flours and the tablespoon of sea salt. Work into dough adding more flour if necessary and knead on a well floured surface for about 10 to 15 minutes. Place the dough in the large bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for about an hour.

Knead the dough lightly to take some of the air out, form into a rounded shape and place firmly, to flatten the base, onto a greased baking tray, cover and leave to rise again for about 20 minutes.

Heat oven to 220c/425f/Gas mark 7, cut a cross into the top of the dough and brush with the beaten egg. Place in oven and bake, with a small bowl of water which will help a crunchy crust to form, for 15 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 200c/400f/Gas mark 6 and bake for a further 10 minutes, remove and allow to cool on wire rack.

Eat and enjoy, you’ll never buy processed bread from a supermarket again.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 1:30 pm and is filed under i buy real food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.