Baking with Spelt Flour
In her latest cookbook, Norwegian Baking Through the Seasons, Nevada Berg uses spelt flour in several recipes. Her use of this ancient grain sparked my curiosity, and her Spelt and Sour Cream Waffles had great flavor. I wondered what other recipes would hold up well by subbing in spelt flour because I like to avoid using all white flour when I bake. Whole grains are more nutritious and deliver depth of flavor; all-purpose flour, in my opinion, can be a bit boring.
Bon Appetit has a lengthy article on spelt flour that describes the grain well. Spelt brings a lot to the party—its flavor is lighter and nuttier than whole wheat and it has more fiber per serving, but it produces a crumblier texture in some bakes, which I don’t mind but some may not like.
After a week of baking with spelt flour, I had the best results using it in bread recipes like Nevada’s waffles and my seeded spelt bread with honey. I also added spelt to Nevada’s simple rhubarb cake during a recipe test, my classic chocolate chip cookies, and rhubarb scones. Spelt’s somewhat gritty texture was more evident in the cookies and scones than it was in the cake, waffles, and bread. I nearly doubled the amount of liquid in the scones to account for the addition of spelt, but they were still quite crumbly—great flavor, but crumbly and a bit hard to pick up and eat.
For me, spelt flour is a lovely addition to my pantry (I actually keep it in the freezer). I look forward to continuing working with it. I see a spelt flour pizza dough in my future—stay tune
Bon Appetit has a lengthy article on spelt flour that describes the grain well. Spelt brings a lot to the party—its flavor is lighter and nuttier than whole wheat and it has more fiber per serving, but it produces a crumblier texture in some bakes, which I don’t mind but some may not like.
After a week of baking with spelt flour, I had the best results using it in bread recipes like Nevada’s waffles and my seeded spelt bread with honey. I also added spelt to Nevada’s simple rhubarb cake during a recipe test, my classic chocolate chip cookies, and rhubarb scones. Spelt’s somewhat gritty texture was more evident in the cookies and scones than it was in the cake, waffles, and bread. I nearly doubled the amount of liquid in the scones to account for the addition of spelt, but they were still quite crumbly—great flavor, but crumbly and a bit hard to pick up and eat.
For me, spelt flour is a lovely addition to my pantry (I actually keep it in the freezer). I look forward to continuing working with it. I see a spelt flour pizza dough in my future—stay tune
