Spelt Bread for the New Pemberton Bakers

Hi everyone, and thank you for visiting this website and thank you as ever to Lisa for running it. It is a lot of fun to contribute to – now more than ever. I see at the Pemberton Supermarket that there are store-packaged containers of yeast! The usual small amount of yeast that the store stocks in jars is apparently not enough for everyone (including myself) making bread these days. I think it is wonderful. I have been making my own bread for years. A warning however – do not buy large quantities of yeast at a place like Costco, in bulk. Yeast loses its power after a while, so buy it in small jars (after this Covid crisis is over). Bread takes patience and time and it is very disappointing when your bread doesn’t rise due to outdated yeast!

This is the recipe I have tweaked over the years. I meant to post it last June but I scrolled down today and noticed that either the recipe got bumped off or I didn’t actually post it like I meant to! Sorry about that. This bread is especially good for toast in the am. There was a butter shortage last week when I got to the Pemberton Supermarket so I bought what was left – organic butter at $10.00 per pound – yikes! We were rationing it at that price. Thank you to the Pemberton Supermarket which during regular times is well stocked, clean, friendly, and bright, but during this crisis is doing a wonderful job supplying our community.

Delicious Fibre-full Spelt Bread (yield: 2 loaves)

Ingredients:

7 cups whole grain spelt flour

(I used the Everland brand this time but Bob’s Red Mill works well too. I have recently had all my Anita’s brand sprouted spelt flour go rancid on me recently even being kept in the freezer so I am not going to use it or recommend it for the time being.)

4 tsp instant dry yeast

1 tbs table salt

1 cup ground chia seed (MUST be ground first)

1.5 cups slow old-fashioned oats

3 ¼ cup water

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1 cup oat bran

Method:

Put 4 cups flour into stand mixer, and add: yeast, salt, oats, chia. Mix well with dough hook.

In saucepan place water and butter, over low heat. When butter has melted remove from heat and add to mixer, with mixer on low speed.

When flour and water mixture are well incorporated, add oat bran and 3 cups of flour slowly.

Increase speed to medium. When dough is elastic and well mixed (10 minutes), remove dough and place in a large buttered mixing bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in oven with oven light on for 1 hour.

After one hour, remove dough and divide in half. Take each half and roll into a cylinder. Place each cylinder into a greased loaf pan. You will have two loaves.

Place loaf pans into oven with oven light on for 1 hour.

Remove pans from oven after one hour and then turn on oven to 375C.

Bake loaves for 30-32 minutes. Cool on rack. Enjoy!