If you're new to making bread or maybe just entertaining the idea, something you might want to consider is to mill your own flour too. Yikes! I know visions of a sweaty brow, pounding grains against rocks must be running through the mind, but nothing could be more UNtrue in this modern age... for as long as we have electricity that is. You can grind your berries (when making wheat breads the grains are called berries) or grains in a mill much like that of a large coffee grinder. It's very easy. Besides the ease of milling, the even bigger satisfaction comes from KNOWING that you have a more superior food product than traditional flours bought in bags. Here are are spelt berries, hard white and hard red wheat look very similar.
Milling the berries leaves the flour in tact with all the E and B vitamins plus fiber. The germ and bran are stripped out in store flours leaving consumers buying a watered down version of grains with little nutrition. Yes, even whole wheat varieties you have to be skeptical because of deceptive labeling laws. Manufactures only have to add back a portion of the whole wheat in order to be able to still legally call it whole wheat bread or flour. True milled wheat is perishable. The vitamin E portion of the germ is an oil that goes rancid with air exposure. Even milled wheat should only be stored short term and in a fridge or freezer. Baking does slow the decomposition but not forever as there are no stabilizers, etc.
Here is a sour dough starter made from scratch. Very simple, just have to baby sit it for a week or so until it gets healthy and bubbly. There are different suggestions on how to make a starter or you can order starters on-line. I prefer to make mine since I make yeast bread almost daily, so wild yeasts live in my home air. A healthy starter ready to use should be bubbly and elastic. Spelt has a lower gluten content than the hard winter wheat so it won't be as elastic.
Starters have to be "fed" to stay healthy and can also be dried and frozen for long term storage, then brought back to life. Bubbles and a distinct sour smell are markers of a healthy starter.
After adding 1 1/2 cup of warm water to a bowl and 2 tsp. of salt....
Add in 1/3 cup of honey or other sweetener like agave (less for agave because it's sweeter).
Add 5 cups of spelt flour (about 3 cups of berries) and 1/4 cup of sour dough starter. Spelt dough doesn't need kneading to get the artisan flair, so mix gently and then place on a floured surface. Dough will be pretty wet so plenty of flour on hands and surface is needed.
Simply stretch the dough in each direction....no perfection here please. Then....
throw in a cutie...(couldn't resist a William photo)
Then fold the sides in on themselves. This gases the bread and helps create larger air holes in the finished product. Four stretches and folds through out the day while rising or in 15 minute increments depending on your time. The final dough should be almost double in size before baking. In my kitchen since we've moved, my rise time is a lot longer due to cooler temps and higher altitude.
I let mine rise most of the day and through the night in the bowl covered with wax paper. You could also let it rise in a warm oven to help speed things up, OR let it rise covered in the fridge for several days. Can't really mess things up. Just remember the stretch/folds and wait until it's almost double in size.
Placed in a regular loaf pan or any kind of bread baking dish. Shape it into a ball or whatever shape you fancy. This is a wet dough so it's going to spread, using a narrow dish allows for greater rise.
Bake at 450 degrees for 45 minutes or until hard and crusty and golden brown. Almost to the point of burned on top. Tah Dah! Ahhh, so beautiful!
Sour dough uses natural fermentation instead of commercial yeast. It's good to know how to use both, especially starters when you do not have access to yeast.
Fresh sour dough bread served with butter and spreadable raw honey...doesn't get much better!
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