Spelt sourdough bread

Ingredients

250g of white spelt flour

250g of wholemeal spelt flour

200g of sourdough starter

300ml of tepid water

1 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons of olive oil

 

Method

 

Here, I have to say that you need patience to make this bread but, once you’ve done it, you’ll see that it’s worth the trouble.

 

First stage

1.       Mix the 2 flours together and sieve.

2.       Put 250g of this flour mixture into a bowl and keep the other 250g, you’ll be using this later.

3.       Add 200g of sourdough starter.

4.       Pour in the 300ml of tepid water and mix the whole thing thoroughly.

5.       Leave overnight or for at least 6 hours. At the end of this period you’ll see that this mixture is full of life with bubbles.

 

Second stage

1.       To the 250g of flour that you had put aside add 1 teaspoon of salt.

2.       Add this to the mixture that has been fermenting. Also add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

3.       Knead everything for 10 to 15 minutes.

4.       Put this back into a bowl and leave to prove for 2 hours.

 

Third stage

1.       Preheat the oven to 240C.

2.       Put the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead again for a couple of minutes.

3.       Now put this dough into a proving basket, if you have one. If not, lightly oil a loaf tin and put the dough in that. Leave for another 2 hours.

4.       If you’re using a proving basket turn the dough over on to a floured baking tray. Give the dough a couple of cuts on the surface. If you’re using a loaf tin, just give the dough a couple of cuts.

5.       Bake for 20 minutes at 240C.

6.       Bake for a further 35-40 minutes at 180C.

7.       Transfer the bread to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.