Multi Seed Spelt Loaf
  • Prep Time: 3h 00 min
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Serving:
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Multi Seed Spelt Loaf

By July 5, 2015

Great tasting healthy loaf. Takes some time to make but well worth the effort.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Check your instructions for the yeast. The type I am currently using requires you to activate the yeast for 15 minutes in water with a bit of sugar. Follow the instructions on your packet of yeast.

2. In a bowl measure out the other bread ingredients. When the yeast is ready add it to the other ingredients and mix. You may need to add a little bit less or a little bit more water to get a smooth dough. As it was 30 degrees C today, I needed to add an extra 2 tablespoons of water. Due to the low gluten content of spelt flour knead for 10 minutes until you have a smooth dough.

3. Lightly oil a bowl and cover the dough and leave to rise until it has at least doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.

4. Lightly oil a loaf tin.

5. On a lightly oil board. Knock the air out of the dough by folding it a few times and shape it so it is the shape of tin, Ensure that any joins are on the bottom.

6. Cover the tin and leave to rise until the loaf has doubled in size. I use the top of my rectangular cake box, alternatively you could use a large plastic bag. Ensure that the dough doesn't reach the top.

7. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. I cook my bread on a interval steam setting. If you haven't got this option on your oven, put a few ice cubes in a baking tin into the bottom of the oven.

8. Put the bread in the oven and cook it for 15 minutes. Meanwhile make the cornflower slurry.

9. Mix the cornflower and cold water in a microwavable dish, place the dish on a plate to make it easier to handle. Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the mixture is boiling, stir again.

10. After the bread has cooked for its 15 minutes, brush with the cornflour slurry and sprinkle with the pumpkin, sunflower and pine nut mix.  Be careful not to burn your hands.

11. Return the bread to the oven and cook for 10 more minutes.

12. To check the bread is ready, tip it gently out of the tin and gently tap the bottom of the bread. If it sounds hollow it is ready. If not cook for a few more minutes.

13. Leave the bread to cool on a wire rack before slicing.

One of the advantages of living in Germany is that there is a wider variety of flours available in a regular supermarket. Spelt or Dinkel flour is much lower in gluten than conventional flour and has a lower Glycemic index meaning it releases in carbohydrate slower making it a more friendlier bread for diabetics.

This multi seed spelt loaf is a healthy and tasty bread. I have added some seeds to increase the crunch and taste factor. Linseeds and Chia seeds have been included in the dough and a salad sprinkle mix of pumpkin, pine nuts and sunflower seeds have been sprinkled on the top. To get them to stick I have used a cornflour and water mix added 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. This has the advantage of giving the bread a lovely shiny finish as well as helping the seeds to stick. On my first attempt at making this loaf I added the seeds before cooking. The long cooking time meant they were over done. Adding them half way through cooking solves this problem.

Due to the low gluten content in the flour you need to cook the loaf in a tin. I am lucky enough to have an oven that has a “interval steam” setting which I used for cooking this. If you haven’t got that option you can put some water in the bottom of a baking tray to make some steam. Make sure your oven is clean before cooking this way. You can of course you a conventional fan setting the bread won’t have quite such a good texture.

 

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