Spelt and Walnut Bread

Today is the perfect day to start making bread at home! Miriam, author of El Invitado de Invierno, brings us a delicious recipe for whole spelt and walnut bread, a very suitable recipe to begin making bread at home. Let's get our hands doughy!

There is nothing more comforting to make at home as the chilly weather approaches than a good loaf bread. And to top it off this recipe not only includes walnut chunks to brighten our breakfasts, but we use spelt flour, a grain similar to common wheat with an excellent flavor.

This bread actually contains only 50% spelt, and wholegrain for health reasons, because spelt gluten is weak and we help it with a strong white flour. This flour takes preferments very well, so we will use a poolish, a ferment made with equal parts flour and water, plus a pinch of yeast.

To make this bread we use an excellent Emile Henry ceramic oven, which absorbs and transmits heat wonderfully and also, having a lid, retains the bread's own moisture and helps it rise as much as possible.

Emile Henry rectangular ceramic oven and Triana recycled glass dishes

Ingredients (for approx. ¾ kg of bread)

• 215gr whole spelt flour
• 215gr strong white flour
• 285gr water
• 9gr salt
• 10gr honey
• 1 pinch dried baker's yeast
• 50gr chopped or whole walnuts

Method

1. Prepare the preferment the night before with 80gr water, 80gr strong flour and the pinch of yeast. Mix, cover and let ferment until the next day at room temperature.
2. Then add the remaining ingredients from the list. Knead by hand or with a stand mixer, using short kneading intervals of 1–2 minutes with intermediate rests of 10–15 minutes.
3. When the dough is smooth and elastic (more or less, since wholegrain doughs never become as smooth as white doughs) form a ball and place it in a greased container. Cover and let it double in volume.
4. Once fermented, transfer it to the countertop and press it down well with your hands to release the gas. Divide into two equal portions, stretch them into squares and place the walnuts on top of one of them. Place the second portion on top, like making a sandwich, and knead lightly to distribute the nuts.
5. Stretch the dough into a rectangle and roll it up.
6. Thoroughly grease and flour the bread pan and place the roll of dough inside, seam side down. Put the lid on the oven and let it ferment again until it has almost doubled in size.
7. Put the ceramic oven with its lid into your oven and bake the bread at 230º for 15 minutes, no fan, just top and bottom heat; there is no need to place a tray of water or spray steam since the lidded oven retains the moisture released by the bread.
8. Then reduce the temperature to 180º and continue baking for another 20 minutes, until the bread is golden.
9. Remove the bread, unmold it carefully to avoid burning yourself and let it cool completely on a rack.

Emile Henry rectangular ceramic oven and Bra Bella coffee maker

And now we have a magnificent breakfast bread full of flavor and that fiber we're told is so necessary. Enjoy well-made things.