Spelt Bread Recipe

2. Spelt Bread Recipe • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast • 2 cups warm water (105° to 110° F) • 3 tablespoons honey • 3 tablespoons melted butter • 2 teaspoons sea salt • 6 cups spelt flour (use any combination of whole or white spelt) Combine the yeast, water and honey in a large warm bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes or until the yeast softens. Stir in the butter and salt and 3 cups of the flour. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. Add the remaining flour in increments until the dough becomes too stiff to stir, then place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 6 minutes, adding any remaining flour as necessary, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Do not overknead. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot for about 2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Grease two 8 ½" x 4 ½" loaf pans. Punch the dough down to deflate it and divide it in half. Form each half into a smooth loaf and place in a prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot for about 1 hour or until the dough has risen to the top of the pans. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Uncover the risen loaves. Place the pans on a heavy baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until the tops are light brown and crusty. Remove from the oven and tap out of the pan into the baking sheet. Turn the oven off and return the breads to the oven to crisp for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

3. Spelt Grain Salad 1 1/2 cups dry speltkernels6 cupswater2 1/4 tspsaltorto taste1 large clovegarlic, chopped2 Tbspbalsamicvinegar1/4 tspfreshlygroundpepperorto taste1/4 cup extra-virginoliveoil2 tomatoes, seeded, dicedsmall1 smallsweetonion, chopped1/4 cupeach: choppedchives, chopped flat-leafparsley, choppedfreshbasil Put spelt and water in medium pan. Bring to boil on high heat. Turn heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until almost tender, about 40 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons salt. Simmer until tender but still chewy, about 10 minutes. Drain well. Transfer to large serving bowl. Cool to room temperature. In a medium bowl, mash garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a paste with a fork or pestle. Whisk in vinegar and pepper. Whisk in oil. Add tomatoes, onion, chives, parsley and basil to the cooled spelt. Toss to combine. Add vinegar mixture. Toss to coat. Adjust salt and pepper if needed. Serve at room temperature. Makes about 6 cups.

4. Spelt Soup Preparation : 10 minutes Cooking time : 2 hours (plus soaking time) 1 cupfarro, washed in coldwaterandsoakedforat least 6 hours, orovernight (save thesoakingwater) 1 ham hock* 1 medium carrot, diced 1 medium onion, diced 1 stalkscelery, diced 4 ripe, medium tomatoes, or 1 14 oztin, or 3 - 4 TBSP tomatopuree Pecorinocheese, grated, asmuchasyoulike Toasted French orItalianbreadtoservealongsidethesoup 4 TBSP goodoliveoil, 2 forsautée, 2 toaddwhenserving Salt andpepperto taste. In a saucepanwith a lid, cover thefarrowiththesoakingwater, addtheham hock (youcan also addthe hock whenyouaddthetomatoestothevegetables, below - this will leavethefarrowith a moredistinctive taste), bring to a boil, reduceheattolowand simmer until not quitetender - depending on the type offarroandthesoaking time, from 15 minutesto 1 1/2 hours. Check occasionallytomakesurewateriscoveringthefarro, andfordoneness. Set aside in a separate bowl. GENTLY sautéethechoppedonion, celeryandcarrot in 2 TBSP oliveoiluntilonionis transparent - do not brown. ADD thefreshorcannedtomatoesand simmer slowly, untilblendedandreduced. May becoveredor not, depending on howmuchwater in thetomatoes, howmuchcookingtheyneed. Youcan save time byusingtomatopureehere, ifyouwish. ADD farroandhamtosautéedvegetables , mix well, just cover withwaterandallowto simmer, coveredforabout an hour, untilfarroisquitetender. Discardham hock, orserve in thesouptoyourfavoriteuncle. SERVE with a dollopofgoodoliveoil on top ofeach bowl, gratedpecorinocheeseandtoast on theside. *ALTERNATE: Ifyoudon'thave a ham hock, youcanchopup a fewpiecesofbaconorpancetta, andsautéethebacon in theoliveoilbeforeaddingthecarrots, onionandcelery.

5. Spelt with Tuna and Artichokesserves 4 Olive oil1 1/2 cups spelt or the red and green pepper spelt mix from Trader Joe's3 cups chicken broth8-12 ounces artichoke antipasto or chopped jarred artichokes1 small can good tuna, packed in oilTwo large handfuls of flat parsley, choppedAbout half a cup of shaved Parmesan or pecorino cheeseSalt and pepper Heat a little olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the spelt and cook until slightly toasty and coated in oil - about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, one cup at a time, stirring frequently but not constantly. Add more as it looks dry. The spelt will probably take 30-40 minutes to cook. Just keep an eye on it and make a salad or cut up some vegetables; it doesn't need to be stirred all the time. When the spelt berries are chewy and al dente, and most of the liquid has evaporated, turn the heat to medium high, and add the artichokes and tuna. Cook until heated through. Add the parsley and cook until wilted, then take off the heat and taste. It won't need much salt, but perhaps a little pepper.

6. Raspberry Blueberry Cake Line bottom of 8-inch (2 L) square cake pan with parchment paper; grease sides. Set aside. In small bowl, toss together raspberries, blueberries and 2 tbsp (25 mL) of the all-purpose flour; set aside.In bowl, whisk spelt flour, remaining all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In separate large bowl, beat eggs with sugar until pale and thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in butter, oil and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until smooth. Fold in berries. Scrape into prepared pan. Sprinkle with almonds (if using).Bake in centre of 325°F (160°C) oven for 50 minutes or until golden brown and cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan on rack. (Make-ahead: Cover and store at room temperature for up to 2 days. Or wrap in plastic wrap and freeze in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.) 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) fresh raspberries1 cup (250 mL) fresh blueberries¾ cup (175 mL) all-purpose 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) whole spelt flour1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking powder1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt3 eggs2/3 cup (150 mL) sugar1/3 cup (75 mL) butter, melted1/4 cup (50 mL) olive oil1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla1/3 cup (75 mL) sliced almonds, optional