So simple! Requires no yeast, or rising. Dough will be wet and is baked like any other pastry. Results in a moist but higher density than yeasted breads, but the flavor, simplicity and quick baking process makes it a keeper! You will love having fresh baked bread so quickly without taking all day! Beware that this tends to spoil between 4-6 days (due to the milk content, I believe), so I would store it in the refrigerator to preserve it, or freeze in smaller quantities. This is a great place to start if you are a newbie at bread making too!
Spelt is a wonderfully nutritious grain. According to Sue Gregg, “Spelt dates back to Old Testament times (see Exodus 9:31, 32; Isaiah 28:25; Ezekiel 4:0). Spelt contains both soluble and insoluble fibers, spelt is easily digested and has considered beneficial for indigestion, gas, and nausea. It is rich in essential fatty acids and higher in fiber than wheat. With a higher fat and protein content than common wheat, spelt is a high energy food.”
As I love exploring with different grains to get a wider rarity of nutrients, I have been exploring with this grain in bread…so here you are!
- 8 cups spelt flour
- 1/2 cup seeds (sesame, flax, sunflower, or combination)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/4-1/3 cup honey
- 3 teaspoons baking soda
- 4 1/4 cups milk (half and half with buttermilk or kefir)
Soaking Step, optional (to break down the phytates): Soak 8 cups of flour with liquids for 12-24 hours. This last time I used 1 cup raw milk, 3 cups buttermilk and 1/4 cup kefir (as my acid medium, because my buttermilk comes from a powder, and therefore not cultured). I left covered on the counter. After soaking, add remaining ingredients and bake.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans.
- In a large bowl, mix together the spelt flour, seeds, salt, honey, baking soda and milk until well blended. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
- Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Placing a tin of the same size over the top of the loaf while baking gives it a lovely crust.]
Lindsay, thanks for posting this! I made it last night and it is easy and fabulous.! I tweaked a couple things for what I had on hand as follows: Only soaked for about an hour or so. Used Agave Nectar instead of honey, and Almond Milk instead of dairy. For nuts: Chia & Flax seeds. I also lightly sprinkled Red Mill high protein hot cereal grains on bottom of pan and on top. I may never buy bread again!!!
Hi there,
I was just attempting this recipe for the first time and I accidently combined all the ingredients in a bowl to soak. After, re-reading, I realized that some of them weren’t supposed to be added until after the soaking. Do you think it’s spoiled now? Or will it work with the ingredients combined? Thanks!
hi lindsay! just woundering if i could use water instead of milk?
I found the original recipe at allrecipes.com. I would check the comments there to see if anyone has tried this recipe with water. I honestly think an non-dairy alternative like coconut or hemp milk would be your best bet.
Hi Lindsay
Thanks for this – I found your recipe while looking for yeast-free spelt bread.
It’s in the oven. The results are going to be interesting as I did a half quantity for one loaf, but forgot to halve the baking soda! An interesting chemical reaction has been going on in the oven!
Not sure whether you are still doing this blog, but if you are, I just wondered if you think using yoghurt instead of buttermilk as the acid medium might work? I live in France and should be able to find buttermilk in supermarkets, but would live yoghurt have the same acid properties anyway?
Many thanks for sharing your discoveries.
all best wishes
Hannah
Most certainly yogurt would work too!
Thanks Lindsay. It turned out fine, by the way, despite bubbling over in the oven like lava! It is delicious and my partner has all but finished off the loaf, so I’ll be making more tomorrow!
I wanted to check that baking soda was definitely the same as ‘bicarb’ as we call it in the UK (it is), and why you left it out until after the soaking. While searching I found this page that explains the chemical reaction between the acid medium and the baking soda – and therefore why you would want to leave out the baking soda until just before baking…
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm
I was always told that you cant bake with honey because it becomes toxic when it reaches a high temperature. Would it not be better to use agave.
I wouldn’t recommend Agave, though touted for its health benefits newer research shows that is hits the bloodstream faster than corn syrup and is actually very unhealthy for you. I believe sucanat or date sugar would be a better substite if you are looking for one.
I love this recipe!!! Its a real hit with my family! Thanks!
Will this recipe turn out using gluten free whole grain flour(s), such as millet, buckwheat, or brown rice flour?!
I tried this recipe and it was horrid… well, the parts that did work out were not horrid. The flavor was excellent, but it burned on the outside and created a great whole on the inside-middle. I am desperately trying to find a lunch bread for my family. (we can not have yeast or wheat). Please let me know what you have on this problem. Excited to try it again.
Have you found another yeast free bread? I recently developed one but I am finding a few holes in my bread as well. Wondering why the holes develop or if you ever figured that part out??
deb
This recipe is fantastic! I love the bread. Made it this weekend, and it couldn't be better. Thank you so much for posting this!
FYI – the crust was really dark about 40 minutes into the cooking time. It looked ready, but when I cut into it it was still doughy. I covered it with foil and baked an additional 10 minutes or so.
Hi,
I’m looking for a recipe for bread using spelt flour & no yeast – however I also can’t use cows milk and was wondering about soy milk. Can you help?
I personally do not recommend soy milk (read more here), but you could try goat’s milk, or hemp milk and I am sure it would work fine.
you could probably use Rice Milk or Almond Milk
Hi Lindsay. I finally had time to make this bread today. I only had 3 cups of sprouted spelt flour so I only made one loaf. I used Millet for the other cup. This bread is really good. I made it for my son who has a lot of dietary restrictions-his request is that I put raisins in it next time. This is definitely a bread that I will be making for him as currently he has his nut butter and jelly sandwiches on buckwheat pancakes. Thanks again Lindsay!
Thanks Lindsay. For those of us who don’t own a mill, sprouted spelt flour can be purchased at Shilohfarms.com
Oh, and also I will be using a sprouted spelt flour so if I understand correctly I won’t have to soak. Is this correct? Thanks again!
Yes, that is right.
My son is on a restricted diet and can’t have yeast so I’m excited to try this recipe. I’m confused on the milk portions though. He can’t have pasteurized milk but can have raw milk. They also make a kefir. Can someone let me know how the milk portion of the recipe is supposed to be broken down by? Thanks.
You can do whatever you want. You just want a total of 4 1/2 cups of liquids. I use a combination of raw milk and kefir.
hmmm…. and you don’t have to knead this bread either???
Can you trade out the spelt for a different flour? for instance would this work w/a whole grain bread?
No, you don’t have to kneed the dough. I haven’t made this bread in a long time as I much prefer my yeasted bread for its lightness, but this recipe is adapted specifically for spelt. Spelt requires more in quantity compared to other grains. I believe it is 1 1/4 cup spelt to 1 cup of another whole grain flour, so it is not the easiest grain to switch out.
I might have to try this… i never made bread, and it’s a little daunting to have to start, and have to knead etc.
I used pasturized and let it sit out…do you have any idea if that’s okay? I plan to bake it in a few hours. If not you may want to add that to your recipe for those who can’t get raw milk. Thanks so much!
I am sure it is fine but using a cultured product would be safer. I did mention specifically that I use raw milk in the recipe. If you can’t get the raw milk, skip the soaking or just use a cultured product to be safe. Blessings!
Hi Lindsay! I’ve been enjoying and utilizing your site so much since I discovered it a few weeks ago. Thanks for all you do!! One question…Is it really okay to leave milk sitting out all night? I am using lemon juice as my acid medium. I’ve been making my own bread for two years now but am just starting the soaking process. Thanks for your help.
As long as you are using raw milk, which sours naturally, leaving it out on the counter is perfectly fine and will increase the culturing beneficial process. If you do not have raw milk, choose cultured options, such as yogurt or kefir and then as they sit on the counter with the flour will help to break down the phytates in the grain and make them more digestible to the body.
Also, do you grind your seeds? I have flax and I’ve always heard that you need to grind it for your body to be able to absorb all the goodies in it.
Actually, flax seeds are perfectly digestible without grinding when you are soaking the product. I throw them in with the flour and liquids.
i have candida can’t use yeast want to make spelt pasta/pizza w/o dairy or sugar can you help thanx
You will want to find a recipe then that is a sourdough. Check out Kimi’s blog for recipes along those lines.
I was so excited to grind and use spelt flour. Sadly my loaves turned our poorly. They did not rise at all, are doughy in the middle and overly crusty on the outside. I used glass pans and halved the recipe making two sad little loaves. Any recommendations? I’m thinking I’ll do like the previous post and make French toast or bread pudding even though my results were not “yum”.
I would recommend checking out the original recipe, which is adapted from All Recipes.com here for further recommendations. I changed the sweetener and such to my preference.
YUM!! I made this and just used it for french toast this morning.Thanks for this recipe as we try not to use yeast in our bread. I just purchased a BOSCH, so I can now make my own bread without breaking the bank!
God bless.
I also have a bread maker and am wanting to get some recipes and or know how to use it with out putting yeast in the recipe. Any idea’s.
If my spelt flour is already sprouted, how much milk do I need to add for mixing?
You would use the same quantity of milk listed in the recipe whether you soak or not.
I didn’t use any milk since my flour was already sprouted and it turned out fine. Now that I read your comment, though, I’m going to try it today using the milke to see the difference!
I am wondering if anyone has tried this using coconut milk? I have dairy issues and wondered if it would work? I’m guessing I’d need to thin the coconut milk out a bit, since its pretty thick!!! If anyone has tried it with anything besides cow’s milk, please let me know!!! Thanks!
thanks. one more question: since it is a clump of dough now, after 24 hrs, how do you mix the other ingredients in? do you just sort of knead in the honey, salt, seeds, and baking soda?
hi lindsay!
i’m new to your blog, and it’s so awesome! thanks for all the great info that you put on here. i feel like you’re a kindred spirit, being a Christ follower, and also i’m really into the wapf way of eating/living. anyway, i made this recipe today and i mixed up the kefir/milk and spelt flour until it was dough-y. so now there’s a big thing of dough that i’m leaving out for 24 hours. is that correct? or was i just supposed to pour the liquid into the flour and just leave it without mixing it?
God bless!!!
hyesun
Yes, you definitely want to mix it all together for the best benefit of breaking down the phytates in the flour. Hope it turns out for you!
Hi Lindsey!!
I LOVE spelt!! I’ve been using it nearly exclusively as I’m allergic to wheat. I make a very easy yeast bread using 3 cups of spelt flour, 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 teaspoons of honey, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of yeast. Mix it all together. Let it “soak” for 12-24 hours. Knead it and shape it into a loaf. Let it rise again for around 2 hours or until doubled in size. Bake at 350 for about an hour. Voila, GREAT spelt bread!! I often add flax seeds as well for additional health benefits! Thanks for sharing your no-yeast version!! That will be great for emergencies!
Greetings to you Carrie, may I use your recipe. I am not good at all with yeast bread but I might like to try your recipe to see if I can do it.
So i tried this recipe using milled while i waited spelt flour. I used one those silicon bread trays. I baked it for the 1hr 10mins (350 degrees) and when i got it out the crust was nice and crunchy but when i cut the bread it was soft and un-done on the inside….grrrrr. What am i doing wrong?
Am suspicious about my flour…perharps it’s too grainy? or maybe i should use a baking tin and not the silicon?
Any pointers would be helpful
Hi Lindsay,
for several months an we LOVE it! I was wondering if you could share any tips for storing the extra loaves. I wrap them in saran wrap and aluminum foil so they don’t get dried out, but when I unwrap them to use later, I feel like I’m wasting so much (foil and saran) to store them. Any ideas? Thanks!
I’ve been making your bread recipe (Homemade Bread Lindsay’s Way
Katie, so glad you enjoy my bread recipe! I actually slice up each loaf after it has cooled and freeze it in the freezer tip Ziploc bags. Usually a half loaf or more fits in each bag. That way, it is pre-sliced and ready to go! If I forget to pull it out in time, I can still thaw out a few slices in the toaster oven (or regular toaster, microwave, etc).
I don’t think it is necessary to use all that additional saran and aluminum wrap. I honestly don’t use them anymore myself, just some good solid Ziplocs…but I have rinsed and re-used aluminum wrap in the past, and I am always re-using Ziplocs!
Hope that helps!
Lindsay,
I was at our local grocery store this past Friday, I saw Flax seed flour? Have you tried it?
I’ve never heard of it before. I’ve only heard of the pills.
I would imagine it is just flax seeds ground into flour, but no, I have not tried it.
Flaxseed flour is great for adding into bread – makes it softer and slightly nutty taste. I add it into breads, muffins, cakes and biscuits = delicious! Especially for gluten-free flours that need a bit more elasticity.
what do you use to grind them with?
I personally have a Nutrimill grain grinder, but you can buy flour, if a mill is not an option…but it is definitely a worthwhile purchase!
This sounds so good! I’ve never tried spelt before, so I’ll have to give it a try via this recipe. Where do you get your spelt? I’ll have to look around locally and see if I can find it whole (I prefer to grind my own grains), but if I can’t I’ll try some pre-ground flour.
I buy all my grains whole from Azure Standard, as I grind my own. You normally can find them whole in your local health food store, if you have one. I don’t think I have seen spelt pre-ground before except through Azure anyway. Azure has the best prices I have found.
I buy my Spelt online or in the heath food store in the neighborhood. Spelt can be found in health food stores. Hope that helps. Oh it also comes in different ways. grain, flakes, flour.
Sounds good, I’ll have to try it. Thanks! Kelly