March 7, 2024

Spelt Sunflower Seed Sourdough Bread

Spelt

Print Recipe

2 loaves

This recipe may sound complicated and time consuming, but it is quite forgiving. I like to bake the bread for dinner, so start a day ahead and make the dough, do the first rise, and put in the fridge overnight. I form the loaves in the morning and then put it back in the fridge, taking it out about an hour before I bake it (a couple hours before dinner as you don't want to slice it when it is too warm).

Ingredients

• 8 ounces Bluebird Pasayten Hard White flour about 1 cup
• 14 ounces Bluebird Spelt Flour about 1 3/4 cups
• 11 ounces Organic unbleached white flour or bread flour, about 1 3/4 cups
• 1/2 cup raw wheat germ
• 12 ounces active sourdough starter about 1 3/4 cups
• 3 1/4 cups lukewarm water more as needed
• 3 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• 2/3 cup sunflower seeds

Methods

• Make sure your starter is active and ready for feeding
• Mix flours, wheat germ, starter and 3 cups of water either by hand or in a mixer with a dough hook.
• Add water as needed to make the dough come together. If you live in a dry area, you will need more water! Add enough water to make the dough pliable.
• Keep mixing/knead for several minutes until a nice ball is formed and everything is well combined.
• Cover with a cloth and let rest for 20-40 minutes.
• Uncover and mix in sea salt and sunflower seeds. Knead until well mixed and seeds are spread throughout-about 4-6 minutes (this bread would be fine without sunflower seeds too). Cover with a cloth and plastic bag.
• If you are around and have the time, every 45 minutes or so, stretch and fold the dough over itself 4-5 times. re-cover each time after turning.
• Let the bread rise between 3-6 hours depending on how warm the rising area is (less time for warmer temp).
• After one last stretch and fold, cover the dough with plastic wrap and put in the fridge. Let it rise in there for 4-12+/- hours.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and divide into two pieces. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes.
• Shape the bread into loaves by lightly wetting the surface and gently cupping the dough and circling it around until a nice ball forms.
• Place in floured boule basket and repeat with second loaf. Cover the loaves with plastic wrap.
• You can either let it rise for another hour in the basket and proceed with baking, or return to refrigerator and let it rise in there until you are closer to baking time.
• About an hour before you plan to bake, remove boules from refrigerator (if you put boules in there), remove plastic wrap and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rest.
• Preheat the oven to 475F and put in any baking stones if you plan to use them.
• Invert dough onto floured cutting board and use a lame or blade to score the bread (usually a star pattern or line down the center with smaller slashes angling away from it). If you like a sturdy crust, spray the oven with water.
• Put dough in the oven and spray the oven 3 times in the first five minutes.
• Turn oven down to 425F after the last spray and let bake for 15 minutes. Rotate after this time and bake for another 10-20 minutes depending on how hot your oven is.
• Place the bread on a cooling rack and let it rest for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Products used

Organic Spelt Flour

Organic Pasayten Hard White Wheat Flour

December 21, 2022

Kutia

Spelt

Print Recipe

Kutia is a traditional Christmas Slavic porridge made of whole grains, poppy seed, nuts, raisins and honey.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole grain spelt (any whole-grain wheat berry will work)
• 4 cups milk (or milk substitute)
• 1/2 cup poppy seed
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2/3 cup dry apricots chopped
• 2/3 cup toasted almonds or walnuts chopped
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• dried or candied fruit optional topping
• whole nuts optional topping
• cinnamon to taste

Methods

• Rinse spelt with water and soak overnight, covered in water. The next day, drain water, and add soaked spelt to 4 cups of milk. Bring milk to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer, and cover with a lid. Cook on stovetop for approximately an hour and a half, stirring occasionally, until spelt if fully cooked. The spelt should remain covered in milk, you can add more milk if necessary to keep spelt fully submerged.
• While spelt is cooking, add poppy seeds to 3 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer, over medium heat then turn burner off. Let poppy seeds sit for 30 minutes, then turn burner on again and repeat this process, letting the poppy seeds sit for another 30 minutes. Strain poppy seeds through a fine screened colander. You can use cheesecloth if you do not have a fine screen to prevent seeds from falling through. Place poppy seeds in blender to create a mash. Place in a small bowl and set aside.
• When spelt is fully cooked, drain off the milk, reserving 1/2 cup. Add honey to the reserved milk and stir until the honey is incorporated.
• Preheat oven to 325.
• Combine spelt, milk-honey, poppy seeds, raisons, apricots, toasted almonds, and sea salt. Pour blend into a ceramic or oven safe dish and bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cover. Let rest approximately 10 to 15 minutes prior to serving. Serve warm or cold. This dish can sit in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
• Top with any nut, dried or candied fruit, and cinnamon for an extra special treat!
  

Products used

Kutia

March 30, 2018

No Knead Crusty Whole Grain Emmer Loaf

Emmer Flour

Print Recipe

1 loaf

Spring is a great time to bake bread- nothing beats fresh bread and hearty soup for dinner after a chilly day in the fields or woods. This Whole Grain Emmer Loaf is delicious and easy if you plan ahead!

Ingredients

• 2 cups Bluebird Emmer Flour plus extra for dusting (you can replace Emmer Flour with Einkorn or Spelt Flour)
• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/4 cup cool water
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt optional

Methods

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours, yeast, salt, and mix with a fork to blend.
• Add 1 ¼ Cups (10 ounces) of cool water and mix it in with the fork. 
• The dough should be wet, but not soggy. If the dough seems dry or all flour is not incorporated, add water 1 Tb. at a time until dough is uniformly wet.
• Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap, and leave at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.
• About 1 hour before you want to bake the bread, sprinkle a dry cutting board or counter liberally with flour. Also spread out a lint-free kitchen towel on the counter, and sprinkle generously with a circle of flour.
• Use a rubber spatula to scoop the dough onto the floured board. Use your hands to pull each side of the dough up and pinch them all together on top at the center of the dough, like a drawstring pouch.
• Pick up the dough and place it pouch-side down on the floured towel. Loosely fold the sides of the kitchen towel up over the dough, and let it rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably 1 hour.
• 30 minutes before you want to bake, pre-heat your oven to 475 degrees.
• If your cast iron pot has a lid with a plastic handle, REMOVE IT and stop up the hole with a rolled-up piece of aluminum foil. The handles can melt (and smoke and smell…) at high oven temperatures. 
• Place your pot with a lid into the oven to pre-heat as well.
• After 30 minutes, use potholders to remove the pot from the oven, take off the lid, and carefully invert the towel to dump the dough into the pot. Sprinkle the dough with coarse sea salt if you like (it helps create a delicious crust), use potholders to replace the lid and put the pot into the oven.
• Turn the oven down to 450 degrees and bake for 55 minutes, until golden and crusty, and somewhat hollow-sounding when thumped.
• Remove the pot from the oven and turn the bread out onto a rack to cool.
• Wait as long as you can (the experts say at least 1 hour) before cutting into it, for the best-textured loaf. But really, sometimes I can only wait 5 minutes, and it tastes so great hot out of the oven with a smear of butter!

Products used

Organic Emmer Flour

Organic Einkorn Flour

Organic Spelt Flour