I’ve been baking bread…
…most recently, five loaves of sourdough spelt. My breadbaking schedule tends to be dictated by my sourdough starter – when it’s frothy and ripe, I’ll often mix up a batch of dough, even if it wasn’t planned. I purchased organic Canadian spelt (we didn’t grow any in Australia last year) from Santos Trading, and it was beautifully responsive…
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This yeasted multigrain loaf was my contribution to the Mellow Bakers’ August bake-along – it’s based on a recipe from Jeffery Hamelman’s Bread…
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Finally, I just couldn’t resist this peanut-peanut butter-tahini-cumin-chipotle loaf featured in Dan Lepard’s Guardian column. I substituted an eighth of a teaspoon of chipotle powder for the roasted chillis, as I didn’t have any of the latter on hand. It was delicious with nasturtium pesto and cheese!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
Ah sourdough … I bought a loaf at last weekend’s market … could have bought the whole stall. These loaves look fab and I can imagine dunking a slice or three into a bowl of soup!
How are the butterscotch bars and dark chocolate? I love that you can make them with eggs from hens you really know!
That starter and that flour sound like a marriage made in bread heaven! Magnificent bread Celia!
Cheers to you..we are sisters of the bread baking family! There is nothing more satisfying than biting into a piece of homemade bread. Thanks so much for sharing! I am looking forward to trying these new recipes!
Thanks Gill! I made the butterscotch bars quite late last night, so I didn’t get to try them (and it’s only 5.20am now, so too early for chocolate, even for me). I did get up this morning and find a big piece cut out of the tray, so I suspect I have mice. :) I love, love, love that I knew it was Queenie’s egg – she’s the only one laying big 59g eggs at the moment.
Jo, thank you – spelt is supposed to be fiddly to bake with, and I’ve found it tricky in the past to get good rise out of it, but you’re right – this particular combination of starter and flour worked really well. I did cut the water back by about 10%, as spelt doesn’t like to much liquid, and the finished dough was still very soft and wet.
Cindy, you’re spot on, there’s absolutely nothing like it! And you’ve got some wonderful spelt growing there in Canada! :)
I love seeing such beautiful loaves of bread! I love eating them as well. I am fortunate to be able to create some of these breads or I couldn’t keep coming around for another look.
I once went to a 4 star hotel that had a marvelous dining room, and a bistro, and a cafe, but I never went to any of them because they had a soup and bread bar set up next to the cafe- and I could never make it past those breads!
Anyway- your breads are spectacular- the crumb and crust made me drool, just looking at it!
Praise from the queen of bread-shaping – means a lot to me, thanks Heidi! :)
YummO! The peanut butter-tahini-cumin-chipotle loaf with those little Celia additions of chilli sounds pretty darn good.
Stunning loaves, Celia!
And thanks for the links!
your bread is amazing, celia. i don’t think there’s anything that comes out of the oven that i love more. my daughter agrees, too. she asks for bread with everything. a crunchy slice topped with goat cheese and tomato is instant comfort food for me. so i’m trying not to cry when i type this: after much delay, lost orders and whatever, my starter gets here a week ago. first day was ok. by the second feeding it was starting to get bubbly. and then it died. still don’t know if it was too hot or the water did it. i did use tap water, but my neighbors drink it all the time, it’s supposed to be ok to use… i’ve ordered a new one, and i’ll not risk it again. the temp is a big issue, as i don’t want to put on the air when we’re not home. i have a friend who at one point was keeping his starter in his car.(don’t ask. he’s a chef and there was some kind of paranoia about it getting stolen). in 100 degree weather, his stayed alive. what gives? i’m going to ask more specific instructions from the lady that ships it. i really don’t want to kaput the next one.
You are truly a master with bread baking – I’ve just been to the central market here in Adelaide and there’s only one place that sells bread that look as good as yours (Dough) and the prices reflect the quality ingredients, the time and the skill that you give to your home made products. You are saving so much money and getting the very best product going! I just drool over your bread photos.
Celia, I love the sounds of the peanut/chilli one. They all look magnificent!
Totally jealous of your spelt loaves, they are beautiful. Was it whole grain spelt? I’ve never managed to get mine so light. What % starter and hydration are you working with?
Your baking is amazing as always! I am fascinated by the peanut butter one. I’ve tried some different combinations – an apple and cheese spelt sourdough this week – but that looks “out there” and great.
What type of spelt do you use? white? There is a beautiful wholemeal spelt from Powlett Hill near Melbourne. Recently, I’ve been experimenting with a white spelt from Kialla and it’s nice to combine with the wholemeal one.
Thanks as always for your wonderful produce and for sharing it!
Cheers,
Craig
Thank you all! Dan’s peanut butter-tahini loaf recipe is very clever – I don’t know how he comes up with his combinations. The dough made three long batons – two and a half were eaten before the night was through! The loaves are supposed to be covered in sesame seeds, but I was all out, so they’ve been rubbed with a little za’atar instead (it was the only thing I could find with sesame seeds in it). :)
Dana, the starters I’ve had have been great, with the exception of one a friend brought from the US for me. It did the same thing – looked promising, but never took off. I wonder if the dried starter was simply too old? In really hot weather, the starter can bubble and then look like it’s gone completely flat – it tends to go in waves. I know it’s a bit of flour to invest, but it’s worth trying for a few days – sometimes it’s deceptive and it isn’t really dead, just dormant. It can peak faster in hot weather too, and might need more food, or even rest time in the fridge.
Sarah, thank you, but it’s just time – as I’ve mentioned previously, we haven’t bought any bread since Jan 07, and since we’re feeding teenage boys, we have to bake a lot!
Liz, this Canadian spelt is definitely the best result I’ve had to date. It was white spelt – I don’t get quite the same results with wholemeal, although I do have a batch rising at the moment to compare. Starter was at 166% hydration (1 cup water to 1 cup flour) and I’m not sure of the dough hydration (sorry not to be more precise), but I used my usual 75% formula, and cut the water back by about 10%, as I’d read that spelt doesn’t like to be too wet. The dough was still very soft and pliable and surprisingly flat when I turned it onto the peel. I wasn’t optimistic, and then it just exploded in the oven!
Craig, yes, using white spelt at the moment. Do try that recipe of Dan’s, it’s great fun! :)
Wow the breads look absolutely amazing. I could never bake anything this beautiful :(… so jealous right now!
Tes, you’re being kind, your cooking is wonderful! :)
You inspire me!
Celia, your bread would compare very favourably with a very popular bakery’s I think! I like the range of breads that you’ve made too! :)
Marilyn, Lorraine, thank you! :)
Celia,
On Saturday I bought some organic spelt from a local farm, just 10 minutes from here. I have never tried to make spelt bread myself. So far I’ve been making rye and whole wheat, Bertinet’s rye and brown doughs. I also follow Bertinet’s method but I guess my flours are not working perfectly with the fresh yeast. I only use organic flours and I have tried both Norwegian and Swedish flours as I live 30 minutes from Sweden I try everything from the other side of the border too. But I found out they sell the same organic flour.
Anyway, the breads I made with dry yeast were a lot better than the ones I made this week. My dear Per bought fresh yeast and I tried to make some breads with them. I think the amount of fresh yeast recommended by Bertinet is quite small, I have loads of doubts about the yeast that’s my fear with sourdough. I feel like flying to Bath and signing for a course with him personally carrying some Norwegian flours and yeast for him to try. Let’s see, maybe this winter I escape to a weekend in England.
C.