This post was originally published in April 2015. It’s been updated as of March 2020 with new pictures, improved text and instructions, and a video.
Simple Spelt Bread
I have a serious crush on homemade bread. Who doesn’t? I’m always happy in the kitchen, but baking bread always puts a smile on my face. The smell, the way the dough feels, and watching what sometimes feels a science experiment turn into something so tasty.
Nothing beats a loaf of bread fresh from the oven. This is a nice, simple sandwich loaf made with 100% whole spelt flour. If you’re looking for a good basic toast/sandwich bread, this is it. It’s my staple bread recipe.
The recipe calls for sprouted flour, which has a couple of awesome qualities – it’s easier to digest than regular flour (both spelt and conventional wheat) and it makes for a lovely light bread. Keep in mind, though, that it won’t last quite as long as other breads, so eat it pretty quickly.
Making bread from scratch
It’s easier than you think, really. You can watch the video for some ideas on how kneading should happen, etc. but it’s pretty basic. For this recipe, you just need yeast, flour, a bit of sweetener, water, milk, and olive oil. If you read through this, watch the video, and still think this might be a bit much, try this no-knead spelt bread first.
The 10 minute sit with the water, yeast, and honey is important – first, it’ll tell you that your yeast is still active, so you don’t waste a bunch of time and ingredients with dead yeast. Second, it’s supposed to help your dough rise faster but that only really matters if you’re using traditional yeast.
There’s a range in the amount of flour you need for this recipe because it depends on a few factors. The big one is that when measuring by volume (cups) the density will vary between flour types and your measuring method.
If you’re using gram measurements then you don’t really need to look at the range, but flour absorbability does vary between types so you will likely need a bit more or less. I use about 3 1/4 cups or just under 500 grams when I make it with the type of flour I use but have used much less with Canadian flour types.
Substitutions & Tips
The recipe calls for sprouted spelt flour, but you can see in the video that I use a lighter flour – it’s sifted or light spelt because I didn’t have sprouted. You can also use regular whole grain spelt, or a mix of any of the three.
This is a specifically spelt bread recipe, but if you don’t have enough on hand for the full recipe or want to sub something else, kamut, einkorn, or any other ancient grain can be used (and whole wheat/all purpose, of course). I haven’t tried making this recipe gluten free because it is spelt bread.
You can use dairy milk for non-dairy if you drink it, which can be said for just about any recipe. Any kind of liquid oil can be used instead of olive – just avoid very strong tasting oils like sesame. There is no substitution for yeast unless you’d like to try a spelt sourdough.
If you’d like to add some things in to this recipe, look to this honey and oat bread, also made with spelt flour. And if you love baking with spelt, almost all of my bread recipes are made with a base of spelt flour.
You can find spelt flour just about anywhere these days – most grocery stores carry it, you can order it easily online, and bulk barn carries light, whole grain, and sprouted. It’s a great flour and my go-to.
In the video, you can see that I roll the bread up into a log before placing it into the tin. This makes a nice tidy looking loaf and you can do that if you like, but it’s not essential – you can also just plop the dough into the tin and go.
More great spelt bread recipes
Spelt Tortillas
Easy Spelt Naan
Rye Sourdough Bread
Saffron Wreath Bread
Vegan Cinnamon Cardamom Buns
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Simple Spelt Bread Recipe
Description
Ingredients
- 60 ml (¼ cup) warm water
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 2 ¼ teaspoons yeast
- 250 ml (1 cup) non-dairy milk can use dairy milk if preferred
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ~500 grams (3 – 3 ½ cup) whole sprouted spelt flour *
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Add the water and honey to a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over top and let it sit for ten minutes. After ten minutes, it should be foamy. If the mixture doesn't foam, discard – you need new yeast.60 ml (¼ cup) warm water, 2 ¼ teaspoons yeast, 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- Add the milk, olive oil, 2 cups (300 grams) of the flour, and the salt. Stir with a wooden spoon until a loose dough forms.250 ml (1 cup) non-dairy milk, 3 tablespoons olive oil, ~500 grams (3 – 3 ½ cup) whole sprouted spelt flour *, 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Add the remaining flour ½ cup at a time, kneading between each addition, until a smooth, springy dough forms. This should take 6-8 minutes. It should be quite smooth and not really sticky. If you're using a stand mixer, use the dough attachment for this.
- Place the dough into a large greased bowl and cover with a tea towel or large plate. Let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for one hour, or until doubled in size. This is called proofing.
- When the dough has risen, punch it down gently and place it into a parchment-lined or well greased standard-size** loaf pan, tucking any untidy ends underneath. Cover with a tea towel and place the loaf into a warm place to rise again for half an hour longer. While it's rising, heat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
- Bake the bread for about 45 minutes, or until golden, and it sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from the pan and cool for ten minutes on a rack before cutting.
- Store the bread in a sealed container for up to three days, or freeze for up to a month.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Hi,
Is the oven temperature for fan assisted?
Hi Paul, most modern ovens are the correct temperature even with the fan setting. I use a separate oven thermometre to make sure the temperature is correct.
I made this bread yesterday and I don’t know what made it turn out so terribly dense and heavy and not a nice rise with a rounded top!! What I did was mix spelt with whole grain flour, I used 1/2 cup kefir with 1/2 cup of whole milk and I mixed it with the dough hook in my stand mixer. I did have it mix for 8 minutes, as I understood the instructions that way whether it was hand kneaded or done with the mixer. I clearly am not happy with the results but feel it was something I did! Any thoughts? I would like to try again but also would like to be more hopeful next time. Also, does the age of flour affect the outcome other than perhaps flavor? Thank you so much for any ideas/suggestions!
Hi Robin, that’s too bad! I don’t think it was your flour or kneading with a stand mixer, but probably more to do with proving time. Did it rise well before baking, during both rising periods? Age of flour won’t really affect it, but the age of your yeast would, if there’s a chance it was dead before using (or the milk was too hot). If the dough rose very well both times before baking, then there’s a chance that it actually over-proved, or perhaps that the oven temperature was off. There are a few factors to consider but I hope that can narrow it down!
It did rise the first time, but not as I would have expected. The second time it did not form any shape at the top, even though I left it to rise 2-1/2 + hours. I went ahead and baked because it seemed it wasn’t going to do any better! I do have a dough proofer I used. The yeast was foamy after the 10-15 min. The water was barely room temperature. Please wish me luck on my next attempt!!!!
That is very strange! Fingers crossed it turns out better next time- you may want to increase the liquid a touch if you’re using regular wheat flour to make up for the different absorption, but that shouldn’t make such a difference. Good luck!
Another comment about the video. I see 6 advertisement videos on this page, but nothing for the recipe. I am on a computer.
Hi Stephanie, I have emailed about this but have yet to receive a response. I can see the video on my laptop, desktop, and cell phone, in every browser – I’m not sure why it doesn’t seem to be working for a handful of people, but hope to have a solution soon.
Thank you Alexandra for all the work you put in. Just trying your spelt bread. Would have loved to watch the video however I can not seem to find it or any link?
Regards
Fred
Hello Fred, may I ask if you were on your smartphone? I’m having a bit of trouble with my advertising company right now and that might be the difficulty – if it is, then I know how to fix it. Thank you!
Hi I want to know if I can use lactose free milk and no dairy free thank you
Yes, definitely.
I tried spelt bread about 15 or 20 years ago when all the recipes I could find called for Xantham gum and other stuff like eye of newt caught on a moonless night. They usually turned out like bricks. This one is MUCH better and so simple! My loaf turned out quite well, it didn’t rise as well as I’d hoped but I think I didn’t allow enough time on the 2nd prove.
Also I need to adapt the temperature as my fan oven cooks faster than some. I’m going to have fun experimenting and adapting . I may try substituting some very strong white or wholewheat to make it a little lighter. Many thanks for sharing this. 🙂
All I can say is “WOW!” We LOVE this bread! So easy to make, and so good! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Hi,
Just an observation.
Bread needs to be proofed in a warm area. Myself make your spelt bread and do my
Proofing in the microwave. The area is small and the proofing process created heat and some moisture. You can cover it with thin plastic wrap. I do this with the first proof and second proof in the loaf pan. I hope this suggestion help you to have every time the same proofing temp. Good luck.
Wonderful recipe – thank you! I’m new to bread making and this was blissfully easy. Your video is the perfect amount of visual aid. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes. 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that, thank you Melanie!
Just made the bread and I love it! I’m on a special diet and spelt is one of the few flours I can have. I like that I can still eat bread 🙂 Thanks for the recipe and easy to follow instructions! The video was very helpful as well. On a side note, I used maple syrup instead of honey, and it still turned out great!
So happy to hear that, thanks Sandy!
I used this recipe to make bread for the first time and it came out amazing. Thank youu ❤️
I’ve made a quick bread version of a spelt loaf many times and I’ve enjoyed the dense quality that type of recipe creates.
Curious to see how a spelt loaf would rise using yeast I tried this recipe. I don’t think I’ll ever make it any other way!
This loaf is lighter than my quick bread method but still hearty. The softer interior with the lovely spelt crust is wonderful!
So happy to find your site. I have a bag of spelt flour and am planning on trying your recipe. Looking forward to exploring your site.
I hope you love the bread, Jackie!
Wow! This bread is soooo easy & soooo delicious! We always try to keep wheat consumption down (or none at all) but we miss bread. I’ve not been too successful making sourdough bread to date…great starter but no patience for the days long process. But THIS…this bread took next to no time, has a perfect crumb, cuts & toasts beautifully & is now our every day bread! I used a mix of whole grain & white spelt & just let my stand mixer do the hard work & a few short hours later…SO MUCH YUM! Thank you thank you thank you!
hi what can i substitute the milk with ? just plain water ? more egg ? i want the bread to be non dairy and i dont have non dairy milk . thank you
Hi Marna, feel free to use plain water in place of milk. The bread may be very slightly less soft but shouldn’t be much changed.
Would it work if I use lactose-free whole milk?
Sure will!
I started making my own bread a couple of years ago and this is the best spelt bread recipe I’ve found … and so easy … it is the only one I will use from now on. Thank you! I was shocked at how high it rose, it toasts great. I used a combination of sprouted, light and whole spelt, instant yeast and almond flour. I threw all the wet ingredients into my Ninja and then heated it, in it went to the prepared dry ingredients … I also added a tablespoon of Whole Psyllium Husks which I now always do with spelt as I’ve found it helps keep the flour moist and there’s less cracking on the sides. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
I live in India. And I’m neither a baker nor a chef. In fact totally illiterate in matters of baking. I eat extremely healthy and gave up bread long ago as store bought bread is filled with unnameable ingredients! Because of the 5 month lockdown perhaps – I have gravitated to the kitchen! And was inspired to try baking bread. The first attempt was with buckwheat flour from an online recipe. That came out bitter and really crushed me. But I decided to give it one more shot. If this recipe failed me I’d never likely bake again!!! But this recipe of Alexander’s – which I followed to a T – made the most marvelous yummy beautiful bread! I can’t believe it! It came out puffed up and golden brown. Looked perfect. And the crust was just right and the bread was soft. Absolutely amazing. And it’s all thanks to this recipe that I blindly followed. Thank you Alexander. I’m going to try your sourdough next.
Love this recipe. have made it a number of times. Do you think I could use the same recipe to make it in a breadmaker (panasonic).
I’m not sure, I’ve never tried it and I’m afraid I don’t have access to one to test it. That being said, though, I think a breadmaker would work fine for this recipe.
This bread is so easy to make, yet so deep in texture and flavor! The only substitution I made was normal milk and I doubled the quantities in order to use a long pullman mold. I am so happy to find thus recipe.