I have a serious penchant for bread and because of this addiction I’ve become a bread snob. Up until 10 years ago, I only ate white bread but it made me feel bloated and rubbish, so I switched to brown.
The results were good, and as long as I stuck to the proper wholemeal bread and avoided the quasi brown breads – which tastes like white bread painted brown – the results remained good.
Not significant enough though, so I switched to spelt bread. It’s made all the difference. Spelt bread is a tasty wheat-free option and my local bakery, run by a very nice Polish lady, supplies the real thing. But at €3.50 for a small loaf and having to buy at least two loaves a week, I ended up spending a fortune.
So I’ve started baking it myself. Sorry Polish lady. It’s worked out really well. The 1Kg bag of spelt flour costs €3.34 and the quick yeast is €1.15, both bought at my local health food store. I can make around six loaves from the 1kg bag, bagging me a hefty saving. Adding my own nuts and seeds, I make a few at a time and just pop them in the freezer.
If bread makes you feel a bit crap, I recommend trying this wheat-free alternative.
Ingredients:
- 500g Wholegrain spelt four
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp quick yeast
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 400ml warm water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions:
- In a large bowl mix together the flour, yeast and salt.
- Dissolve the honey in the water and roughly mix it into the flour.
- While the dough is still craggy, add the oil and mix well.
- Knead or work the dough for a few minutes and then divide it between two 500g bread tins.
- Cover and leave dough to rise for about 30 minutes in a warm place.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 40/45 minutes.
- When baked, let rest on a rack for about 30 minutes.