Spelt bread recipe – gluten and yeast free

The first of our recipes from the Cornucopia at home book is from the bread section – spelt bread recipe. As a place, Cornucopia is great for breads, with an impossible to choose from variety to accompany your soups.

This one is the spelt bread recipe. Even on the first run, it turned out great.

As you can see, I got my 3 year old daughter to help out. She loved rolling, lovely the gooeyness, thought the flour was like snow and was v proud of herself altogether. She also ate it, which is always more likely if she made it. (just noticed the crums on her chin – awww!)

Even though this is a yeast free recipe, it rose really well and had a great texture. I also added hemp seeds to the mix, but stuck to 150 grams of seeds. This gives the overall bread a great crunch.

I also spiked it a with a tiny touch of stoneground wholemeal and white flour (less than 50 gr) as I′ve no technical reason to avoid gluten, and I love the taste combination the variety gives. But if you are gluten tolerant, then skip this part.

Overall, it is a very filling meal of a bread with a lovely slightly glossy crust on top, as thou it had been egg washed/glazed. A great alternative to pancakes or porridge for breakfast – toasted or untoasted.

OK, here it is:

•  425 gr spelt flour
• 150 gr of your own favourite seed mix (theirs is sesame, sunflower, pumpkin at 40 gr each, poppy and linseed at 15 gr each)
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp salt (heaped)
• 550 mls water
• 1 tbsp treacle (blacostrap molasses) optional
• 900g loaf tin

Preheat the over to 180 degrees and brush the tin with oil or line it with baking parchment. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and all the seeds and combine thoroughly .Form a well in the centre of the mix.

In a jug, combine the water and the treacle, stir well and then pour it into the well in the centre of the dry mix. Use a spoon our your hand to bring all the ingredients together evenly. Make sure that the treacle is evenly distributed, not clumped in sticky pockets. Use as little mixing as possible to achieve an even mix. It should be of a very sloppy consistency.

Transfer the mix to the oiled tin and press down evenly. Bake in the centre of the over for about 60 mins, until well risen and evenly browned. Run a knife around the edge of the loaf, turn over onto a wire rack and tap the base with your finger. If it makes a hollow sound, the bread is cooked. Cover with a tea towel and leave to cool completely on the rack before cutting.

Spelt bread recipe – yeast and gluten free bread brought to you by Cornucopia.
Read more about spelt on Wikipedia.