Clive's wholemeal spelt bread

Overnight sponge

Set down an overnight sponge using

%

Wholemeal spelt                     100

yeast                                        1

water                                       68

No salt is needed at this stage.

Mix to a clear dough and stand at an ambient temperature for 12 hours covered. Finished dough temp 21oc.

Main dough

Flying sponge

To produce the main dough you need to hydrate the bran in some of the flour to make it supple (this is called a flying sponge). You do this by setting down 20% of the flour in the main recipe, all of the yeast and some of the water to make a creamy batter. Once blended, stand in the corner of the kitchen for about an hour or until it drops.

Main recipe

Place the "main recipe" ingredients into the mixing bowl and develop until clear. Add the flying sponge and develop as before, then add the over night sponge and continue to develop until silky.

Place into your proving box, covered to avoid skinning and stand at an ambient temperature for one hour.

Tip out the dough onto your work surface dusted lightly with flour. Press out the dough slightly and then fold the dough into three by gently stretching it from the bottom to the middle and then from the top to the middle, place back into the covered box. Stand in bulk for a further 30 mins.

Take out of the box and scale off into you required weights. Hand up, put to one side covered for 20mins to recover then proceed to mould into your final shape.

Final proof will only be about 30 mins depending on you ambient temperature, but the product prefers to be slightly under proved and will perform better if taken earlier rather than later.

Alternative

An alternative is to use the white sponge above and add it at only 25% of the main dough. Follow the above recipe for the final dough, but remember to add 8% more water to the final dough stage and 0.5% more yeast.

Added by: NaomiS