Crunchy on the outside but tender on the inside, this sprouted spelt sourdough boule is a toothsome loaf full of flavor from both the spelt and sourdough starter.
A fortuitous measuring mistake led to the baking of this lovely loaf! I was in the kitchen making sprouted spelt everything crackers and right off the bat, I added FULLY DOUBLE the amount of water to the spelt flour than I was supposed. Why? I cannot tell you except that I was a bit distracted, never a good thing when baking.
So I set that bowl aside and started afresh on the cracker recipe which turned out very tasty, by the way.
I do hate to waste ingredients though so when the enormous cracker was in the oven, I decided to adapt my sprouted spelt boule recipe to make a sourdough loaf. I gotta tell you, it was an excellent decision. We loved this bread!
Since the flour and water had already had about 35 minutes mixed together, I went with the flow and said to myself, okay, we are starting with an autolyze. An autolyze is when you hydrate the flour ahead of adding the rising agent which allows gluten to begin forming, and creates a smoother, more extensible dough, often reducing the need for extensive kneading.
Then I added in the sourdough starter and left the mixture an additional half hour or so (a step sometimes called fermentolyse, differing from autolyze by the addition of the rising agent, either sourdough starter or yeast) before continuing to mix in the rest of the ingredients. Worry not, full instructions follow below.
Good save, right? Waste not, want not.
Sprouted Spelt Sourdough Boule
If you can’t find sprouted spelt flour, Google offered the following suggestion: “The best substitute for sprouted spelt flour is sprouted whole wheat flour, as it offers a similar nutritional profile, nutty flavor, and baking consistency.” If you can find it, I have at least six other recipes here to use it, from sourdough blini to sweet muffins to artisan yeast bread.
Ingredients
1 cup or 240ml warm water
1 1/2 cups or 180g sprouted spelt flour
1 cup or 250g sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups or 188g bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Before baking:
Sprinkle of rice flour - optional
Essential equipment:
5.5 qt or 5.3L Dutch oven with ovenproof lid or a bread cloche
Lame, razor or very sharp knife for scoring
Method
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the water and spelt flour. Mix well. Cover with cling film or a shower cap and set aside for about 45 minutes.
Add in the sourdough starter and mix again to combine. Cover with cling film or a shower cap and set aside for another 45 minutes.
Add in the bread flour and salt. Mix well.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl, making sure all the flour has been incorporated.
Knead until the dough is springy and formed a good ball. I use my stand mixer for this because I am a wimp.
Cover the bowl with cling film or a damp teacloth. Let sit at room temperature for 8-12 hours.
The longer the better, in my opinion. You can also pop the covered bowl in the refrigerator overnight, after the rise at room temperature.
If you have refrigerated your dough, remove it from the refrigerator and leave to come to room temperature before continuing.
Once the dough is room temperature and ready to bake, prepare a greased square of baking parchment on a plate. Make the dough into a tight ball and transfer it to the parchment. The parchment isn’t strictly necessary but it will make transferring the risen dough to the Dutch oven easier later.
Cover with a loose towel or oiled cling film and let rise for 1 hour.
When your dough has almost doubled in size, preheat oven to 450°F or 232°C WITH THE COVERED DUTCH OVEN or BREAD CLOCHE INSIDE.
I have a new toy which is a LeCreuset bread cloche. I had only used it before this from a cold start so I was crossing my fingers it would work for this as well! (Reader, as you can see, it did!)
Once the Dutch oven or cloche is fully heated and the dough is done rising, hold the edges of the parchment paper and carefully place the loaf inside.
Cut a few slashes in the dough to allow it to rise further as it bakes and to give it a decorative finish. I like to sprinkle the top with rice flour first to give it definition but that’s not necessary. It just looks prettier once baked.
Depending on your oven, let the bread bake with the lid ON for about 20-25 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. If you are a thermometer-using baker, fully baked, the boule should have an internal temperature of about 190°F or 88°C.
Remove the boule from the oven.
Let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. Waiting is the most challenging part of the recipe! It smells sooooooo good.
Slice to serve. This boule is great as is OR toasted. A smear of butter never goes amiss.
Enjoy!
It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s time for my fellow Bread Bakers and I to share our bakes. Our theme is sourdough. Many thanks to our host, Sneha of Sneha’s Recipe. Check out the links below.
- Overnight Sourdough Sandwich Bread from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Small Sourdough Bread from Sneha’s Recipe
- Sourdough Oat Waffles from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Sprouted Spelt Sourdough Boule from Food Lust People Love
- Sweet Potato Sourdough from A Messy Kitchen
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#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
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