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Spelt Buns / Bread



Spelt is an ancient grain and has a really nice nutty flavor. Lately I have enjoyed using spelt flour to make my buns and bread. It doesn't work any differently than other wheat flour and has a nice taste to it. I modified my Honey Bran Bun recipe replacing the wheat and bran for spelt to make these.
  • 2 cups very warm water
  • 1/3 cup of honey
  • 1/2 cup of olive oil, or the oil of your preference
  • 7 cups of organic spelt flour 
  • 2 eggs, fork beaten
  • 1 tbsp. dry instant yeast (added to the flour)
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tablet of crushed Vitamin C* (optional)
  1. Combine  honey, water oil, salt and eggs (and Vitamin C if using).
  2. Add 3 cups of spelt with the dry yeast, stir well to mix.
  3. Add remaining flour gradually as you are kneading to make a soft dough but not too sticky. You may need to add a little more flour as needed.
  4. Knead about 8 minutes until smooth and elastic.
  5. Place in a large greased bowl, turning once to grease all the dough
  6. Cover with a tea towel and put into your oven with the oven light on, for about 40 minutes or until doubled in size.
  7. Punch dough down and shape into buns or bread. I usually get about 3 dozen buns, or 2 loaves of bread from this recipe.
  8. Let them rise on the cookie sheet or loaf pan for another 30-40 minutes.
  9. Bake at 375 for about 15-18 minutes, depends on your oven and how brown you like them.  For the loaf bake for 25-30 minutes. The bread will sound hollow when you tap on it, then you will know it is done.
 * A professional baker told me a tip that they use in their bakery is to crush a vitamin C tablet and dissolve it into the water. I did that for one recipe and not for the other. The dough may have been a bit lighter in texture, but I didn't find it to be essential to have good results.  I also only had orange flavored tablets and we could not taste the flavoring in the buns at all.



19 comments:

  1. My mother would add a tsp of lemon juice to her whole wheat bread dough, I assume this would serve the same function as the vitamin C tablet and for those too lazy to crush a tablet (me), it's simpler.

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  2. We buy spelt berries and grind our own flour, then we make a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread with spelt about once a week and really enjoy it. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

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    1. I've been looking for a spelt raisin bread recipe. Would you mind posting it ?
      I'm curious what you use to grind the flour. I am considering purchasing the grain grinder for my Kitchen aid mixer.

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  3. Charlotte,
    Did the spelt make your buns crumbly? I've read that it does and that has also been my experience in baking bread with spelt flour. So when I make whole wheat bread I only use a small amount of spelt flour otherwise the bread is too crumbly.

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    1. Anonymous, thanks for asking. My buns were not crumbly besides the usual crumbs bread leaves behind. They were moist, rose well and were light in texture. I even tried baking them with richer ingredients like milk, butter kamut, flax and pumpkin seeds and they still turned out good. Everyone in our family really enjoyed them a lot.
      I will post the loaded spelt buns another time. I want to make them again to double check that they are as good as I remember. I hope you have success with it if you try this recipe.

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    2. Add butter, butter from grass fed cows if possible. Don't use any of the veg oils. Most are garbage save Olive oil, and unless you buy either California or Texas Olive oil, you've a better than 90% chance of buying oil that is both diluted and rancid. Also, try adding eggs or an extra egg to batter. Perhaps a tablespoon of coconut oil. Experiment around and you will find a formula that will eliminate the crumbly texture.

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    3. I used potatoe water and a 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and that did the trick for me! My buns turn out moist and not crumbly at all. Happy baking.

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  4. I make bread in the breadmaker, white, whole wheat, or spelt, and also make dough in it for buns. I learned long ago to use 1/4 cup of oatmeal as part of the flour, to prevent the bread from being crumbly. It worked then, and I've never tried it again without. Dairymary

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  5. Thanks for the helpful tip Dairymary :)

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  6. Do you have any idea of the nutritional breakdown for this recipe, such as carb, fiber, protein and fat per slice based on the average sized slice? I am on The Zone and Ezekiel bread is one of the few that it okay. This looks to be similar. If you have any idea of the nutritional data, I would be very grateful. Thanks.

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    1. I am sorry but I do not have the nutritional information on this recipe. I am not sure how to get it either, but if you some day get that info, let us know. Each loaf makes 14 slices.

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  7. Sigh...another recipe that says to "shape into buns"...a tutorial on this particular process would be SO helpful...

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    1. You take a piece of dough and pinch off the bun between fore finger and thumb, or roll it into a ball on the counter or table. Anneliese gives an picture example of it here http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2009/04/potato-rolls.html

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  8. I have trouble with loaves sticking when removing them from the pan. What type of pan is best to use and what do you suggest greasing bread pans with ? I don't keep lard or shortening in the house, but have tried coconut oil, olive oil and butter.

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    1. Sherilyn Wood Thank you for the question. I have not too much trouble when I bake buns then just a bit of butter on the pans works well. I do however have a bit more trouble with the loaves. So I certainly butter them generously especially on the sides and on the bottom of the pan then I also sprinkle cornmeal around the pan and that seems to help. Then I let the bread loaves rest in the pan for about 10 minutes before trying to remove them. I hope you have success with that method. Let me know if that worked for you.

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  9. Just pulled it out of the oven. It's surprisingly light in texture! And yummy. Thanks for the recipe. This will have to be my "go-to" spelt bread recipe!

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  10. Hello! I want today to try this recipe. Could you explain, please , what weight of flour and water consists of " cups" ? is it 240 ml or 140?
    Thanks in advance

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    1. Hello Elena, I am sorry that I can't answer your question since I do not have an accurate scale to weigh the flour. The water would be the following. 1 cup of water equals 250 ml of water. I hope this helps.

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  11. I have used this recipe for cinnamon buns on numerous occasions now with wonderful results..love it..as does my family. Thank you!! Note: I use 1 tbsp. lemon juice instead of the Vit C. I don't know if that makes any difference.

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