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
Ingredients
- 60 ml warm water
- 2 ¼ teaspoons yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- 250 ml non-dairy milk
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ~500 grams 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 overtop 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.
- Add the milk, olive oil, 2 cups (300g) of the flour, and the salt. Stir with a wooden spoon until a loose dough forms.
- Add the remaining flour 1/2 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
* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Eva says
Hi Alexandra,
If I want to mix in some seeds, nuts or raisins, when is the best stage to add these?
Thanks!
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Eva, I would knead these in after the first rise, before you shape the dough into a loaf. Just deflate the dough as usual, add any seeds or nuts, and fold the dough several times to incorporate. Shape as usual and rise the second time. One thing to keep an eye out for is raisins poking out the top of the dough – they’ll burn, so make sure to tuck them under.
Lorraine Moulis says
Hello,
I have stone ground spelt flour – whole grain. will this work fine as well?
thank you!
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Lorraine, I find that the coarser texture that stone ground usually has does work well, but it will result in a slightly denser loaf. You may want to reduce the flour content slightly (by 20-30g) as the flour will absorb a bit more water, too. One last thing – I would also recommend letting the dough rest after the first couple minutes of kneading to let that flour absorb the water, and then it’ll be easier to work with and less prone to tear as you continue kneading. Hope this helps!
Hilde says
Thank you for this yummie recipe! It’s my favorite and bake such bread every week!!! Also a bread with raisins😋😋😋
Maureen says
HELLO! CAN I SUBSTITUTE 1 TABLESPOON OF SUGAR FOR THE HONEY/MAPLE SYRUP? THANK YOU! 🙂
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Maureen, that would be fine 🙂
Sarita says
Can I use butter as a replacement for the olive oil?
Alexandra Daum says
Should be fine!
Connie Robin says
Can you use lactose free 1% milk instead of non dairy milk?
Thanks,
Connie
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Connie, any dairy milk is also fine!
Zeta says
Question. If I want to double the recipe, should I double the yeast as well?
Alexandra Daum says
Yes, if you want to double it all of the ingredients should be doubled.
Deb says
Amazing!!! So nervous working with yeast, did it foam enough, should I start over, but pressed forward, even missed step 5 with second rise and it was perfectly delicious, thank you!
Leigh says
Can I use regular milk or does it need to be non dairy
Alexandra Daum says
Dairy milk should be fine. I’ve never tried it but other readers have and say it’s worked for them!
Caitlyn says
Can the yeast be substituted with starter? And if so, how does the recipe change? Thank you!
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Caitlyn, I haven’t tried this particular recipe with starter and would have to test. You can try one of these, though, which are also made with spelt flour but use starter: spelt sourdough bread or honey oat spelt sourdough.
Linda says
Delicious flavour, will use this recipe whenever I make spelt bread!
Kristy says
For this spelt recipe, can you substitute a sugar alternative like erythritol for the honey, to make it more diabetic friendly?
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Kristy, I haven’t tried it, but it should work. I’m not sure if it interacts in a different way with yeast. You can also leave the honey out altogether.
Mary says
Was skeptical about the short proving times but this bread turned out delicious! I used 4/5 spelt (Dinkel 605) and 1/5 wheat flour (505). It made a lovely, light, slightly cakey loaf with a great crunchy crust. Only thing I would love to work out is how to get the top of the loaf as crunchy and delicious as the sides and bottom!
Annie says
That bread is incredibly good. It rises well (if we give time enough) and toast well. It’s my favorite recipe and trust me, i’ve tried a lot of recipies.
Stefanie says
I’ve been making this bread for my husband and he really likes it except when it bakes in layers and gets gaps in it and falls apart. It seems to be an issue when I roll it to put it in the pan. How do I get it to stick together? Can I knead it again and form it into a loaf? I don’t know a lot about the science of bread baking.
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Stefanie, I’ve never had this happen, but it sounds like you’re having a bit of trouble with shaping, or that the dough has a bit too much flour on it when you’re rolling it up before placing into the tin. If you could send me a picture, I’d be able to pinpoint the problem more effectively!
Kristen says
Can I do this in the breadmaker?
Alexandra Daum says
Hi Kristen, I haven’t used a breadmaker in years, so I can’t give concrete advice. My concern would be over-mixing when using spelt in the breadmaker, but you can certainly try it.
Sanne says
Delicious and turns out great every time!
Cherri says
This recipe sounds easy and straightforward for a newbie bread maker such as myself. I’m going to try it tomorrow. Do you have a recipe for sourdough starter that you recommend that calls for sprouted spelt flour. I’d like to also try your sourdough spelt bread recipe but need to make some starter first. I’ve tried making it several times and gave up because I didn’t want to waste anymore ingredients.
Alexandra Daum says
Hi there, I make starter all the time with sprouted spelt flour. You can do the normal 100% hydration method and simply use that flour instead. I do have a very easy sourdough spelt bread recipe ready to post, but my oven at this (temporary) apartment doesn’t bake evenly, so I’ll be posting it in January. In the meantime, there’s also a good sourdough spelt bread in my cookbook, made with rye starter.