I remember reading a while back that someone suggested mixing spelt and kamut together 50/50 to make a bread. They pointed out that their strengths counter balance the weaknesses of the other flour. I have both grains so I milled up some flour and set out to make some bread.
The Dough
| Ingredient | Metric | Imperial | Baker's Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spelt Flour | 309 grams | 10.91 oz | 50.00% |
| Kamut Flour | 309 grams | 10.91 oz | 50.00% |
| Water | 414 grams | 14.61 oz | 66.99% |
| Salt | 12 grams | 0.42 oz | 1.94% |
| Preferment 67% hydration | 155 grams | 5.47 oz | 25.08% |
- Total Flour Weight:
- 618 grams
Percentages are relative to flour weight (flour equals 100%) and every other ingredient is a percentage of this. Flour from the starter is not counted. This recipe was originally in grams and has been automatically converted to other measures.
The preferment was made with equal parts of spelt and kamut flour. This was made and let ferment for 8 to 12 hours. I then mixed the flour, water, and preferment together into a shaggy mass. This was let sit for 30 minutes before the salt was added. I bulk fermented it for 3 hours then shaped the dough and placed it into a banneton.
This was raise for an hour and a half. The oven was preheated to 460°F and when it was ready I slashed the dough and put it into the oven. It was cooked for 30 minutes covered with a roasting pan and the last 15 minutes with the pan removed. The hydration was 67% since I didn't know what to expect but if you want a more open crumb then add more water. Next time I make it I'l use more water for sure. The crumb wasn't dense but more like the crumb of some rye breads that I have made. I really like working with this dough it just seemed so easy to work with. The taste of the bread was really good and if I hadn't known what it was made from I would have thought it was wheat. This would be a good bread for someone who is allergic to wheat. The crust wasn't crisp and thin like a bread made with wheat flour but still it made a very nice loaf.
Replies
Nice LD. do you have a crumb shot?
I assume you added yeast to the preferment. What kind and how much?
Karnie no crumb shot. The whole loaf was eaten at work and I didn't have a camera. You can see the size of the bubbles in the crumb in the slashes.
eyendall no I'm to cheap to buy yeast that is why I do sourdough.
Sourdough is fun to work with. Glad you worked with these flours. Now, I'll know how to work with them.
Am thinking I will put a grain mill on my Xmas wish list. How do I turn a 50/50 sourdough starter into a 67% hydration starter? Know there is a formula but can't find it. Thanks for replying.
Midnite Baker I don't try to make the resulting sourdough starter exactly 67% but I take a small bit of 50% starter or even 100% starter and feed it flour and water at 67% levels. When that has fermented 8 to 12 hours I add flour and water at 67% levels and use that to make my bread. I have my spreadsheets online that I use to figure this all out.
Thanks for replying. Okay, what I am reading here is this. Add 2/3 flour and 1/3 water to my 50/50 (flour/water)
sourdough starter. And do this twice. If I am wrong, let me know. Also, thanks for the link to your spreadsheets.
I think that a 2/3 flour and 1/3 water to your 50/50 starter will give you a starter with 50% hydration. Your 50/50 starter with equal parts of water and flour is a 100% hydration starter. You want to add a given amount of flour then you want to add roughly an amount of water that is 67% of the amount of flour that you added. The spreadsheets can calculate this for you if you can figure out how to use them. Let me know if you need any more help.