For this spelt sourdough bread I used three different flours. 50% spelt flour with 12% protein, 30% bread flour with 14.5% protein and 20% whole wheat flour with 11% protein.
I just love trying different flours and am excited to see the results every time. When using new flours, you always have to adjust the amount of water a bit, because each flour can absorb different amounts of water.
I used my active sourdough starter in this recipe. My starter is good to go if I feed it the night before and then make the levain the next morning. Depending on the activity of your starter, you may have to feed it more than once until it is fully active again. You get a pretty good sense of this after baking some sourdough breads.
Tools & Equipment
- Banneton
- Bench scraper
- Digital thermometer
- Dutch oven
- Glass jar with lid
- Large bowl with lid (or plastic wrap)
- Parchment paper
- Plastic wrap
- Silicone spatula
- Scoring knife or razor blade
- Wire rack
Recipe Tips
Sourdough Starter: For this recipe you need an active sourdough starter. Your starter should double in size at room temperature within 5-10 hours after feeding. If it does, it is perfect. If not, repeat feeding every 12 hours until it does. I used a 1:5:5 ratio, which means 10g starter, 50g flour and 50g water. Rye or whole wheat flour works best.
Hydration: I used a total of 350g of water, which means 70% hydration. Each flour is different and has a different protein content. Depending on which flour you use, you can add more or less water. I used spelt flour with 12% protein, bread flour with 14,5% protein and whole wheat flour with 11% protein. You can adjust the water content to your needs.
Bulk Fermentation: A well developed dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl when you turn it and the volume increases by 20-30%. More air bubbles develop along the sides of the bowl. These are signs that the dough is ready for the next step. Increase the fermentation time if the dough develops slowly. Keep in mind that time is only an indicator, pay more attention to the dough itself to decide whether the bulk fermentation is done.
Ingredients for Spelt Sourdough Bread
Directions – How to Make Spelt Sourdough Bread
Feed your Starter & Make the Levain
Take your starter out of the fridge the night before and add starter, spelt flour and water (30°C/86°F) to a jar, mix until combined. Cover and let it sit overnight at room temperature. The next morning, take 50g of your active starter, water (30°C/86°F) and spelt flour and mix until combined. Cover and let sit at room temperature until doubled in size, for about 2-3 hours.
Autolyse
In a large bowl add 325g warm water (30°C/86°F), spelt flour, bread flour and whole wheat flour. Mix with a silicone spatula for about 1 minute, then use your wet hand to mix. Once combined and there are no large lumps of flour, cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for about 2-3 hours.
Add the levain to the dough and mix with your wet hands. Once well mixed, add salt and the remaining warm water (30°C/86°F) to the dough. Mix well with your wet hands. The dough should have a temperature of about 24-27°C/76-80°F. Cover the dough and let it sit in a warm place, for 30 minutes.
Bulk Fermentation
Complete three sets of stretch and folds. To do so, take a piece of dough from one side, stretch it out until you feel tension and fold it onto the opposite side of the dough. Rotate the bowl and repeat the process 5-6 more times. Lift the dough and put it back down a couple of times, tucking the dough up underneath itself. Cover and let the dough sit for 30 minutes.
Perform the second set and after another 30 minutes the third set. Cover the dough and let it sit for another 2-3 hours. After these additional 2-3 hours, the dough should have risen by about 20-30%.
Shaping the Dough
Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Lightly dust the dough with flour and turn it over so now the floured side is on the work surface. Fold the dough over itself to make sure the flour on the surface of the dough sticks to the outside of the loaf. Work the dough into a round shape. After this initial shaping, let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes.
Lightly flour the work surface and the top of the dough. Slide under the dough to lift it off the work surface, maintaining the round shape. Turn the dough over leaving the floured side on the work surface and the former bottom side facing up. Fold the third of the dough closest to you up and toward the center of the loaf. Stretch the dough to the right and fold this third over the center. Then stretch the dough to the left and fold this third over the previous fold.
Stretch the third of the dough farthest from you and fold it toward you. Take the dough closest to you and wrap it as you roll it away from you, so that the smooth bottom of the loaf is now the top and all the seams are on the bottom. Let the shaped loaf rest for 1 minute.
Proofing Stage
Mix together a 50:50 ratio of rice flour and spelt flour. Dust the banneton with this flour mixture. This will prevent the dough from sticking during the final rise. Lift the loaf from the work surface and place it in the banneton with the smooth side down and the seam facing up. Cover the dough and let it proof at room temperature (25-27°C/77-80°F) for about 1-2 hours. You have two options now, depending on whether you want to bake the bread the same or the next day:
- You can let the dough rise at room temperature (25-27°C/77-80°F) for another 1-2 hours and then bake it directly.
- If you don’t want to bake immediately, you can delay the process by placing the dough in the fridge for up to 12 hours. The cool environment slows fermentation, but does not stop it. After 8-12 hours, the dough will develop a more complex and slightly sour taste.
Baking
Preheat the oven to 260°C/500°F about 30 minutes before baking and place a dutch oven with a lid in it. Dust the top of the loaf with rice flour and carefully invert it onto parchment. Score the loaf to make sure it fully develops in the oven. An unscored loaf will not rise properly.
When your oven reaches 260°C/500°F, remove the dutch oven. Place the loaf in the dutch oven and cover with the lid. Put the dutch oven back into the oven and reduce the temperature to 230°C/450°F. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and continue baking until the crust has a deep caramel color, for about 25-30 minutes. It is done when the core temperature reaches 95°C/200°F. Remove from the oven and carefully lift the bread out of the dutch oven. Let the bread cool completely on a wire rack.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
Storage: Paper bags or kitchen towels are great to protect bread from drying out too much. Keep your bread at room temperature for 3-5 days. Do not store bread in the fridge. If you do, it will get stale faster compared to keeping it at room temperature.
Freezing Instructions: Freezing is a good option for longer storage. Let the bread cool completely and either freeze the whole loaf or slices of bread in a ziplock bag for up to 3 months.
My Summary for Spelt Sourdough Bread
Difficulty: Intermediate.
Taste & Texture: This spelt sourdough bread has a bit of a sour taste, but not too strong. A crispy crust with a chewy crumb and nice holes which are more or less evenly distributed. I really love the flavor and the texture.
Time: Feed your starter the night before. For making the levain and autolyse you need about 2-3 hours, the bulk fermentation took me 5½ hours (it depends on the temperature in your environment, in my kitchen it was about 23°C/73°F). Shaping the dough is done in 10 minutes and after that let it sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours (for me it was 90 minutes). For the final rise I put the loaf into the fridge overnight (second option: let it proof 1-2 more hours at room temperature, if you want to bake the bread on the same day). Baking time is 45-50 minutes.
