PKD Recipes

Ingredients
½ C. whole spelt flour
½ C. water

Preparation
Mix the water and the flour together using a wire whisk. Allow it to sit out overnight to ferment. In the morning thin the batter with water if necessary. Cook on a hot skillet. Fold in the crepe some sliced roasted apples or pears or peaches and roll together. Serve hot.

Ingredients

1 egg or egg yolk (or Egg Replacer)
¾ C. almond milk & lemon juice
1 tsp almond extract
1 Tbsp Tupelo honey
3 Tbsp olive oil
½ C. whole spelt flour
tsp aluminum free baking powder
¼ tsp Himalayan pink salt
¼ tsp nutmeg

Preparation
Mix the wet ingredients in a bowl. Add the dry ingredients to a bowl. Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined. Add more milk to make a thin batter. Allow the mixture to rest for about ten minutes while you heat a cast iron skillet or an electric griddle. Add a few drops of oil to the skillet. Sprinkle water over the skillet. If the water dances and sizzles, it is hot enough. Pour a ⅓ cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form then flip over. Serve with fresh fruit, or an all fruit jam.

Chop spelt grains in the food processor then soak overnight. I have tasted them cooked whole and cooked chopped. I prefer the taste of the chopped. To me it resembles a bowl of warmed chopped nuts that I dearly love. The whole kernels taste fine too, just different. Experiment and see, which tastes you prefer. I also have a flake-making-machine on my grinder. This presses the grain into flattened flakes. Spelt flakes, like oat flakes, have yet another interesting taste.

If mornings are rushed: (The way I usually make spelt cereal.)

The night before, chop the spelt kernels first in the food processor, soak them in twice the amount of water, bring to a boil, then a slow simmer for about a half hour or 20 – 30 minutes. Then in they go into the fridge for an overnight diminishing of their phytic acid. In the morning I add more water, heat and serve. This can be placed in a wide mouth thermos to be kept warm for later.

By cooking grains by this method, spelt becomes even more alkaline and it has greatly diminished phytates, the phytic acid. .
A friend of mine was so into minimizing phytates that for cakes, cookies, and muffins she soaks the spelt kernels overnight. In the morning she dries them in the oven. This makes bulgur. Then she grinds the spelt bulgur into flour that will not require any further soaking to rid it of phytic acid.

Ingredients
2 C. buckwheat flour combined with 1 C. spelt
2 extra large eggs
½ C. warm almond or rice milk
⅓ tsp Himalayan pink salt

Preparation
Combine the flours and salt directly on a large pastry board or smooth work surface. Make a well in the center of the flour. Lightly beat the eggs with milk and pour the mixture into the well. Using a fork, gradually draw in the flour from the inside wall of the well. Beat gently in a constant direction to prevent air pockets from forming. Use your free hand to protect the outer wall until the wet mixture is well integrated. When the mixture becomes too stiff to work with a fork, scrape the dough from the fork into the well and continue forming the dough with your hands. Draw in the flour very gradually from the bottom of the wall, again being careful to keep air out of the dough and prevent air pockets from forming. Continue forming the dough into a very soft ball. It should be firm enough to handle, but soft and very pliable. If there is too much flour to be absorbed, do not use it all. Conversely, work in a little more flour if necessary. The perfect consistency is soft but not sticky, responsive to being touched and worked with. Using the heels of your hands, flatten the dough ball and knead it from the middle outward, folding it in half after working it each time. Knead both sides, maintaining a round shape, for about 10 minutes, until the dough is even and elastic.
Cover the dough with an inverted bowl or plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes, or up to 3 hours.

or Mix Dough in a Food Processor
Pasta dough can be mixed in a food processor. Place the dry ingredients in the bowl. Combine the eggs, oil, if using, salt, and any other flavoring such as tomato paste separately, then pour into the bowl. Turn the machine on and process until a ball is formed and the ingredients are well mixed. If the mixture is to dry to form a ball, add a little water and pulse once. Cut as for fettuccine.

Eden brand makes a spelt soba noodles. Eden® Spelt Soba is a combination of two supremely energizing and strengthening, non-hybridized grains, spelt (Triticum spelta) and buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum). Spelt is also known as dinkel and farro, spelt is an ancient and distant cousin to modern wheat. It was one of the first grains to be cultivated and has grown on Earth for about 9,000 years. The twelfth century healer St. Hildegard wrote about spelt, “It produces a strong body and healthy blood for those who eat it and it makes the spirit of man light and cheerful.” Both spelt and buckwheat are valued for their rich flavor and health benefit, and both can be easily enjoyed by most people who have wheat allergies. Spelt is easy for the body to assimilate because it is uniquely water soluble. Buckwheat is excellent for stabilizing blood sugar and it contains high amounts of rutin, a flavonoid that causes decreased capillary fragility. Buckwheat is rich in all eight essential amino acids, especially lysine. Soba (buckwheat) noodles have been the healthy fast food of Japan for centuries. It is similar to spaghetti, but cut square.
Eden Spelt Soba is an excellent source of thiamin and a good source of protein and magnesium. Each is a low sodium, low fat food. As with the buckwheat and spring wheat, the spelt and kamut used at Eden’s Canadian pasta plant is 100 percent Canadian organically grown. Eden’s noodles are made by the same roll and cut process as traditional handmade noodles in Japan. The flour is slowly kneaded with pure water and a bit of sea salt which helps to bind the dough, enhances the flavor, and naturally preserves the finished pasta. The dough is then rested for hours; an essential step in creating the right texture. When finished it is repeatedly layered and laminated, and then rolled out and cut on a bladed roller. The pasta is cut into long sections, lifted on racks, and rolled into the drying room. It is allowed to dry slowly for up to twenty-four hours depending upon thickness, temperature, and humidity.

Ingredients
¼ C. soaked for 2 hours almonds
¾ C. soaked for 2 hours walnuts
2 C. sprouted spelt kernels
3 pitted dates
¼ C. shredded apple
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp fresh parsley chopped finely

Preparation
Soak almonds, walnuts for 2 hours; rinse under running water. In a separate glass bowl soak the dates in water for an hour. Drain nuts and dates along with the remainder of ingredients and work in a food processor or puree in a gear juicer or blend in a high speed blender. Mold this into a loaf shape and dehydrate for 17 hours or bake in an oven at 90º for about 5 hours. When done the loaf should feel crisp on the outside and moist in the middle. Slice with a serrated knife.

Ingredients
½ C spelt flour
½ – ⅔ C. warm water
pinch Himalayan salt

Preparation
Put your flour into a mixing bowl and your warm water and salt into a jug. Add a small amount of the water at a time, mixing the whole thing with your fingers or pallet knife. Gently work the flour and water into a soft dough – you may not require all of the water. Once you have your dough, sprinkle flour over your work surface and knead the dough for a couple of minutes or until you get a kind of marble effect. Split dough into small balls. Leave to rest for around 30 minutes, if possible allow it to ferment overnight. 

I have made these in the morning and left them standing in a mixing bowl covered with a clean tea towel for the whole day and then rolled and cooked them in the evening time. When ready, heat your pan on full power, then dust your working surface with flour and divide your dough. You can make as many tortillas as you want from this piece of dough, depending on whether you prefer large or small tortillas. Roll them out into circles if possible but it really doesn’t matter what shape you end up with.  Once you have rolled one out fairly thinly place it onto your hot pan and gently go round the outside edge of the tortilla pressing down very gently with a piece of kitchen towel. (wrap the kitchen towel around your fingers for protection as sometimes steam escapes and may burn you). This helps to seal the tortilla and they will start to puff up while cooking.  After a few seconds turn the tortilla over, if it sticks to the pan then the pan is not hot enough.  Depending on how large the tortillas are, the whole process should only take between 30-60 seconds. Once the tortilla is cooked remove it to a warm plate.  Tortillas can always be re-heated on a hot griddle for a few seconds if they get too cold.

Ingredients
2 C. spelt flour
½ – ¾ C. warm water

Preparation
Add flour to a mixing bowl or food processor. Add ½ cup of water. If using a food processor, drizzle remaining water through the opening by the tablespoon until it makes a slightly firm dough and it clings together in a ball as the food processor turns. If doing by hand, continue to mix and add water until a firm ball can be formed. Transfer to a work surface and knead for about 25 – 30 times, turning it over. Let it rest for 2 hours covered with a damp cloth. Roll into a sausage shape divide into 12 pieces. Roll out into thin rounds on a lightly floured surface, about 5 inch in diameter. Heat a flat iron griddle and rub vigorously with olive oil. Cook over medium heat until little brown flecks appear on the surface, then turn. Press down on each chapatis after you turn it to encourage it to puff up, rise, and inflate with air. Stack the flat chapatis and keep warm while the remainder are cooked.

Soak the spelt grains 2 – 4 days. Rinse and drain daily. Allow it to sprout just a little bit of a tail but not turn green. Place a cupful of the sprouted grains into a food processor and grind and add to this one cup of spelt flour and about 5 Tablespoons of water. Leave overnight to rise on its own.

The next morning divide this into 8 parts, rolling each part out into a round chapattis. Sometimes one can get a tortilla press or some individuals pass the dough back and forth between their two hands flattening and rounding it as they go. Another method is to get a flat bottomed pot and press the dough downward which leaves a nice round chapatti or tortilla.

Heat a dry iron skillet on medium.  Roll out each section on a floured board and place in hot skillet until the dough begins to bubble and brown slightly or puff up.

Flip tortilla and do the same thing on the other side.  Let cool, place in covered container.

Start by grinding spelt grain fresh every day. Mix this freshly ground flour with water to make a CHEF. Allow it to stand from 6-10 hours. Adding water first, then flour to make a CHEF.

Some differences when using spelt:
When incorporating spelt into an existing recipe, reduce the liquid by 10-15%. For non-yeasted bread reduce the knead time by &#8532 and allow 30 minutes rest at least for full development.

CHEF
rise 12-24 hours
If using cold refrigerated chef (previously left over levain) about a half a day before baking your next loaf, allow it to come to room temperature. Mix the refrigerated previous chef with ⅓ cup of water and ½ cup of spelt flour. Allow it to sit out on the countertop in a glass jar for 12-24 hours or until it develops fine bubbles. For its rising I keep it in a glass covered jar with a rubber band to mark the beginning of the rising. Once it has fermented (12-24 hours) this becomes your chef for baking today. Adding almond milk to replace water in this recipe makes a softer crust.

Water Choices
Mineral water
Filtered water
Tap water that has been left out overnight to dissipate the chlorine.

Four steps to bake non-yeasted breads.

CHEF Step 1-Begin by making a CHEF
LEVAIN Step 2-Second is the LEVAIN
MAKING BAGELS Step 3-Third step is MAKING the bagels
LEFTOVER CHEF Step 4-The final step is caring for left over CHEF

CHEF Step 1 (Takes 4 days to make.)
Day 1
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½  C. spelt flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour
Add water first then add flour. I have been told to add a tiny pinch of yeast (Sekowa Bachferment special) to assure a vibrant CHEF. I have not found this step to be necessary. For first time bakers, try a tiny pinch of yeast to assure that you produce a vibrant CHEF. This yeast step may be omitted. Add all to a tall 2-3 quart clear glass container with a lid. Stir well to make a thick, soft dough. The exact consistency of the dough will vary with the flour. Do not add more flour or water. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, cover tightly with a lid and let stand in a moderate area (about 70ºF) for 24 hours. Put a rubber band around the jar at the top line of the CHEF. With a rubber band in place, one can easily view the rising CHEF. 70º is the temperature in a wine cellar or basement. The refrigerator is too cold for a beginning CHEF. Try a cool corner of the kitchen counter top or the back of a closet. Avoid placing the CHEF on the top of the refrigerator as this area contains refrigerator coils, undesirably warming the CHEF too quickly. For tropical environments or in the summer months, one may wish to use a thermometer to find a cool area of the kitchen or place the CHEF into the refrigerator at night and remove it in the morning.

CHEF Step 1 NOTE
Now I try to bake on a flower day from Maria Thun’s biodynamic calendar. She has experimented practically applying Rudolph Steiner’s techniques to everyday life including when to grow certain things, when to taste wine and when to bake. Maria Thun on wine.

CHEF Step 1
Day 2
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½  C. spelt flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour
When you first observe the CHEF in the morning it will have doubled in volume. You can tell this has happened by the previously placed rubber band marking the beginning volume. Add water first then add flour. Stir vigorously adding fresh oxygen to the CHEF. Place in a 70ºF draft-free place for 24 hours. The CHEF should have the consistency of soft dough. Consider adding a little more flour or water to create this texture.

CHEF Step 1
Day 3
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½  C. spelt flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour
Add water first then add flour. CHEF will now have the texture of a thick batter and will have doubled in volume. Let it stand at 70ºF in a draft free place for another 24 hours.

CHEF Step 1
Day 4
CHEF is now fully ripe, with many bubbles and a batter like consistency, similar to pancake batter. It is ready to be added to the next step. If you do not want to bake bread today, refrigerate the CHEF up to 3 days. After 3 days, bring the CHEF again to room temperature, add ⅓ cup water of water and ½ cup flour, stir rapidly, aerating the 3-day-old-CHEF.

LEVAIN Step 2
rise 6-10 hours
1 ¼  cups of spelt flour
All the CHEF
Bring the CHEF to room temperature.  2 hours will bring refrigerated CHEF to room temperature. Add flour directly to the batter-like CHEF. Stir vigorously adding fresh oxygen to the mixture. This should make the mixture very stiff. This stiff form is important for ripening the CHEF. If the batter is too water-y it becomes very sour and tangy. Scrape down the sides and let stand in a cool 70ºF draft-free place for 6-10 hours, or until doubled. Inside a bread machine with the machine unplugged will do nicely. Do not let it rise beyond 10 hours or there will not be enough strength in the LEVAIN to encourage the bread to rise.

MAKING BAGELS Step 3
Ingredients
2 C. white spelt flour
1 C. LEVAIN
1 tsp Himalayan salt
2 tsp olive oil
1 C. water

MAKING BAGELS Step 3
Preparation
Bring LEVAIN, flour, water, and the mixing bowl, all to room temperature. If your flour is cold from being kept in the fridge, warm it a little. Taking these extra steps helps the bread to rise nicely. It behave quite differently when all ingredients are first brought to room temperature. Mix CHEF and water with a wooden spoon or a wire whip. Continue stirring until the mixture is slightly frothy and the LEVAIN is partly dissolved. Add 1 cup of flour and stir until well combined. Add salt and just enough of the remaining flour to make a thick mass that is difficult to stir. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead. Add more flour until the dough is firm and smooth, about 25-50 times. Stop kneading when the dough is soft, and a little dough pulled from the mass springs back quickly. Shape into a ball.
knead 15 minutes

MAKING BAGELS Step 3
RISE THE DOUGH
rise 2 hours
Cover and let the dough to rise for 2 hours. Try a deep wide bowl, cover with a huge plate to keep drafts away.

MAKING BAGELS Step 3
LET THE DOUGH REST
rest 30 minutes
Deflate the dough by pushing down in the center an dpulling up on the sides. Knead the dough very lightly to form a tight ball. Place it on a lightly floured board. Cover with a clean damp canvas or linen cloth. Place in a moderately warm 74º – 80º draft free spot for 30 minutes.

MAKING BAGELS Step 3
SHAPE THE BAGELS
rise 5 minutes
Knead dough very lightly to form a ball. Flatten with the heel of your hand on a lightly floured surface into a disk about 8 inches in diameter. Shape dough into 6 equal portions. Roll each portion into a rope about 20 inches in length, tapering the ends slightly. Bring the tapered ends together and overlap by 2 inches. With the end that is facing outward, wrap and enclose the other end and pinch to seal. Set aside on a lightly floured surface, cover with a clean linen or canvas cloth, and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

MAKING BAGELS Step 3
Just before the next step, bring 6 cups of water to a boil and stir in 1 tablespoon of coarse salt. Maintain heat at a gentle simmer. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
simmer in water 2-4 minutes
pre-heat over 400º
bake 25 minutes
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and light sprinkling of yellow cornmeal. After their brief rest, the bagels are placed into simmering water for about 2-4 minutes, flipping them over with a slotted spoon halfway between cooking time. Remove and place onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or to a light golden brown. Cool for several minutes before slicing.

LEFTOVER CHEF Step 4
Earlier you had some left over levain to save for another baking day. Take the left over levain and add to this ⅓ cup of water + ¼ cup of spelt flour; adding the water first. Mix well to aerate, adding fresh oxygen. Allow to rise a bit while you finish baking the bread then place in a cool area or in the refrigerator (I put mine in the wine cooler) for baking another day. This then becomes your new CHEF. Some have tried freezing the chef while they are traveling.

LEFTOVER CHEF Step 4
For a sweeter bread, fed the CHEF twice in a 24 hour period just before baking your next loaf. To bake your next loaf, allow CHEF, flour, water, and mixing bowl, all to come to room temperature. The process for making these non-yeasted bagels is indeed a long one, but once you experience biting into a savory warm bagel, made fresh from your own stone lined oven, you will be handsomely rewarded through your efforts.

Ingredients
2 C. white spelt flour
1 C. whole grain spelt flour
2 tsp Sekowa Spezial Backferment lactic acid yeast
2 tsp Tupelo honey
1 tsp Himalayan salt
2 tsp olive oil
1 C. water

Preparation
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the oil and water; mix with a wooden spoon until all comes together and commence kneading on a lightly floured surface until the dough is smooth and elastic; about 10 minutes. Place dough back into the bowl, cover with plate and a linen or canvas cloth. Allow to rise for about 90 minutes in a warm place until proofed to 1½ times the size in bulk. If unable to find backferment, try regular yeast 2 1/2 teaspoons.

[Just before the next step, bring 6 cups of water to a boil and stir in 1 tablespoon of coarse salt. Maintain heat at a gentle simmer. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.]

After the initial rising period, punch down dough and divide into 6 equal portions. Roll each portion into a rope of 10 inches in length, tapering the ends slightly. Bring the tapered ends together and overlap by 2 inches. With the end that is facing outward, wrap and enclose the other end and pinch to seal. Set aside on a lightly floured surface, cover with a clean linen or canvas cloth, and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

[Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and a light sprinkling of yellow cornmeal.]
After their brief rest, the bagels are placed into the simmering water for about 2 minutes, flipping them over with a slotted spoon halfway between cooking time. Remove and place onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or to a light golden brown in a 400º preheated oven. Cool for several minutes before slicing.

Ingredients
½ C. whole spelt grains
1 Tbsp olive oil
½ tsp Himalayan pink salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp caraway seeds
¾ C. rye flour

Preparation
Sprout the spelt berries by soaking in water from 2-4 days. Rinse and drain each morning.  Do not sprout so long that there are any green shoots. Grind fairly fine in a food processor or high-speed blender. Mix in oil, salt, soda, seeds, and enough rye flour to form a stiff dough. Form into golf-ball sized rounds. Roll out on a well-floured board as thin as possible, not thicker than ¼ inch thick. Bake on a dry griddle on low heat for about 5 minutes on each side or in a medium low oven until very slightly brown.

Ingredients
2 ¼ C. spelt flour
½ tsp Himalayan salt
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ C. dried cut up apricots

1 tsp almond powder
Zest 1 orange
1 ounce orange juice
⅓ C. almond milk
¼ C. olive oil
Chia egg (grind 1 Tbsp chia; add 2 Tbsp water; allow to thicken)
4 Tbsp Tupelo honey

Preparation
Mix spelt flour with salt, baking powder, baking soda. Add almond milk, honey, chia egg, and oil. Chop dried apricots and gently fold into batter. Drop onto parchment lined baking sheet or drop spoonfuls onto a heated oven stone. Bake at 400º for 15 minutes until golden brown in color. Serve warm with passion fruit butter.

If one uses eggs this is not vegan.
Ingredients
1 ½ C. spelt whole grain flour or
1 C. spelt + ½ C. rice flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
⅛ tsp Himalayan Pink salt
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 egg yolks (can omit)
1 Tbsp Tupelo honey
1 tsp vanilla powder or
vanilla bean scraped
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 ½ C. cultured almond milk with lemon

Preparation
Mix dry ingredients first. In a second bowl beat together eggs, honey, vanilla, almond, oil, almond milk with lemon juice. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix lightly and allow to sit for a moment so entire batter will rise.
In the meantime heat a griddle so when water is splashed on the griddle, the water dances and makes a sizzling sound. Cook undisturbed until little bubbles appear on the surface. Flip them over cook about one minute. Refrain from patting them or turning them a second time–both will make the pancakes lose their lightness. Serve with fresh fruit berries, peaches or bananas.

Ingredients:
½ cup whole spelt flour
about 2 tablespoons water
a dash of Himalayan Pink salt

Preparation:

Mix together adjust by adding more water or flour to make a stiff dough. Let it rest for about 20 minutes. Cut in half and roll out thin to form a pancake. Dust with flour and let rest 20 minutes. Cook on a dry very hot griddle about 2 minutes until the edges look dry. Turn over and cook about the same time, it will start to puff up in places, Tap the spots that do not puff up with a finger to encourage that part to puff. Sometimes you have to turn it a third time to get it to puff, or seperate.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Makes 2-pound loaf  (12 slices). Per slice: 165 calories; 1 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 2 mg cholesterol; 31 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 3 g fiber; 347 mg sodium. This recipe is without raisins, sugar, or baking powder. Soda breads are hearty Irish staples – wholemeal flour with large flakes of bran and the germ, or white flour or a mixture leavened with baking soda and moistened with buttermilk. The acid in the buttermilk reacts with the baking soda, which is an alkali, creating bubbles of carbon dioxide which rise the bread. Soda breads have the heft of a yeast bread but are made in minutes and the dough can be shaped into scones or a round loaf, depending on the occasion. Originally it would have been baked in a bastible (pot oven, known today as a Dutch oven) over the open fire.

Ingredients:
2 C. whole grain spelt flour
2 C. sifted spelt flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 ¼ C. almond or coconut milk
Juice from one lemon

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450º
Coat a baking sheet with butter and dust with a little spelt flour. Whisk whole-spelt flour, white spelt flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in milk and lemon juice. Using one hand, stir in full circles (starting in the center of the bowl working toward the outside of the bowl) until all the flour is incorporated. The dough should be soft but not too wet and sticky. When it all comes together, in a matter of seconds, turn it out onto a well-floured surface. Clean dough off your hand. Pat and roll the dough gently with floury hands, just enough to tidy it up and give it a round shape. Flip over and flatten slightly to about 2 inches. Transfer the loaf to the prepared baking sheet. Mark with a deep cross using a serrated knife and prick each of the four quadrants. Bake the bread for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400° and continue to bake until the loaf is brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped, 30 to 35 minutes more. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and let cool for about 30 minutes.

Ingredients
1 C. spelt flour
1 Tbsp  baking powder
(rumford Ø aluminum)
1 tsp Himalayan Pink salt
3 Tbsp olive oil
A little water, if required

Preparation
Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, olive oil and a little water, if required. The dough should then rest for 20 minutes. Form into 4 pitas and bake them in the oven for 10 minutes at 250° C (480° F). Roll out 2 balls, then place them into the oven, directly on the rack. Do this as quickly as possible so the oven doesn’t lose heat. Bake for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes check the bread. It should be puffed up and dry looking. If it is not done, leave for 1 more minute. If it has turned brown and is crunchy, it is overcooked. You can still eat it and it is tasty, but cook the remaining breads for a shorter amount of time.

The History of Irish Soda Bread appears to have originated in the mid-19th century, when bicarbonate of soda was first used as a leavening agent. At that time, yeast sales were banned to prevent illegal production of whiskey. Alternative rising agents to make bread had to be found. This resulted in one of the most distinct of Irish products – Irish soda bread.

“The bread has been a particular specialty of Ireland since the late 19th century. In Ireland the use of bicarbonate of soda or bread soda in bread-making was commonplace by the 1840s and certainly by the second half of the 19th century soda bread had become an established feature of the Irish diet. Its popularity can in part be attributed to the fact that rural Ireland did not have a strong tradition of yeast bread manufacture. Until the late 19th century bread-making was considered an entirely domestic procedure and executed with a limited range of utensils; the pot oven or bistable and the flat iron griddle. These utensils were ideally suited to soda bread preparation and the soda itself provided a convenient, storable, and predictable leaven regardless of the strength or weakness of the flour.”

– The Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford]

Ingredients for Pattti’s Irish Soda Bread:
2 C. white spelt flour, plus more for dusting
1 ½ Tbsp of Just Like Sugar® for baking®
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
⅓  tsp Himalayan salt
1 C. raisins/sultanas
2 C. almond milk with added lemon juice

Preparation:
This recipe includes raisins making it slightly sweet. Mix together all dry ingredients and stir in almond milk with lemon juice about a cup at a time. Check that the flour mixture is entirely moist. Form together in a loaf (no more than 3 inches high) on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 375ºF for 40 minutes.
CAUTION:
Patti’s original recipe calls for buttermilk and sugar two items that react poorly with PKD/PLD. If you use these items, see your reaction within your own body. If you awaken with a stuffy nose, scratchy throat or cough probably buttermilk or dairy is the culprit. Try substituting the juice of one lemon added to either coconut or almond milk. If a headache finds its way to you, then sugar is likely the culprit. Drink lemon juice first thing in the morning to diminish a headache.

Spelt English Muffins are  delicious with Kumquat all fruit spread or Lilikoi jam.
Some differences when using spelt:
When incorporating spelt into an existing recipe, reduce the liquid by 10-15%. For non-yeasted bread reduce the knead time by &#8532 and allow 30 minutes rest at least for full development.

CHEF
rise 12-24 hours
If using cold refrigerated chef (previously left over levain) about a half a day before baking your next loaf, allow it to come to room temperature. Mix the refrigerated previous chef with ⅓ cup of water and ½ cup of spelt flour. Allow it to sit out on the countertop in a glass jar for 12-24 hours or until it develops fine bubbles. For its rising I keep it in a glass covered jar with a rubber band to mark the beginning of the rising. Once it has fermented (12-24 hours) this becomes your chef for baking today. Adding almond milk to replace water makes a softer crust.

Water Choices
Mineral water
Filtered water
Tap water that has been left out overnight to dissipate the chlorine.

Four steps to bake non-yeasted muffins.
CHEF Step 1 – CHEF
LEVAIN Step 2 – LEVAIN
BAKING Step 3 – MAKING muffins
CHEF Step 4 – Converting left over

CHEF – Step 1 (Takes 4 days to make.)
Day 1
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½  C spelt flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour

Preparation
First add water then add flour. Some add a tiny pinch of yeast known as Sekowa Bachferment special to assure a vibrant CHEF. Many have not found this step to be necessary. Add all to a tall 2-3 quart clear glass container with a lid. Stir well making a thick, soft dough. The exact consistency of the dough will vary with the flour. Do not add more flour or water. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, cover tightly with a lid and let stand in a moderate area (about 70ºF) for 24 hours.

Put a rubber band around the jar at the top line of the mixed CHEF. With a rubber band in place, one can easily view the amount the Chef has risen. 70º is the temperature in a wine cellar or basement. The refrigerator is too cold for a beginning CHEF. Try a cool corner of the kitchen counter top or the back of a closet. Avoid placing the CHEF on the top of the refrigerator as this area contains refrigerator coils, undesirably warming the CHEF too quickly. For tropical environments or in the summer months, one may wish to use a thermometer to find a cool area of the kitchen or place the CHEF into the refrigerator at night and remove it in the morning.

NOTE
Try baking on flower days from Maria Thun’s biodynamic calendar. She has experimented practically applying Rudolph Steiner’s techniques to everyday life including when to grow certain things, when to taste wine and when to bake. Maria Thun on wine.

Day 2
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½  C. flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour

Preparation
When you first observe the CHEF in the morning it will have doubled in volume. You can tell this has happened by observing the previously placed rubber band marking the beginning volume. First add water then add flour. Stir vigorously adding fresh oxygen to the CHEF . Place in a 70ºF draft-free place for 24 hours. The CHEF should have the consistency of soft dough. Consider adding a little more flour or water to create this texture.

Day 3
⅓ C. water or 5 Tbsp water
½  C. spelt flour or 8 Tbsp spelt flour
Add water first then add flour. CHEF will now have the texture of a thick batter and will have doubled in volume. Let it stand at 70ºF in a draft free place for another 24 hours.

Day 4
The CHEF is now fully ripe, with many bubbles and a batter like consistency, similar to pancake batter. It is ready to be added to the next step. If you do not want to bake bread today, refrigerate the CHEF up to 3 days. After 3 days, skim off any accumulated liquid. The fluid on top might look a bit dark. Bring the CHEF once again to room temperature. This may take about two hours. Add ⅓ C. water and ½ C. flour, stir rapidly, aerating the 3-day-old-CHEF.

LEVAIN – Step 2
rise 6-10 hours
1 ¼  cups of spelt flour
Use all the CHEF

Preparation
Bring the CHEF to room temperature.  2 hours will bring a refrigerated CHEF to room temperature. Add flour directly to the batter-like CHEF. Stir vigorously adding fresh oxygen to the mixture. This should make the mixture very stiff. This stiff batter is important for ripening the CHEF. If the batter is too water-y it becomes very sour and tangy. Scrape down the sides and let stand in a cool 70ºF draft-free place for 6-10 hours, or until doubled. Inside a bread machine with the machine unplugged will do nicely. Do not let it rise beyond 10 hours or there will not be enough strength in the LEVAIN to encourage the bread to rise.

ENGLISH MUFFIN
Step 3-MAKING the Bread
1 C. water
1 C. LEVAIN
1 Tbsp Himalayan pink crystal salt
2 ¼- 4 C. spelt flour

Preparation
Bring LEVAIN, flour, salt, water, and the mixing bowl, all to room temperature. If your flour is cold from being kept in the fridge, warm it a little. Taking these extra steps helps the bread to rise nicely. It behaves quite differently when all ingredients are first brought to room temperature. Mix the CHEF and water with a wooden spoon or a wire whip. Continue stirring until the mixture is slightly frothy and the LEVAIN is partly dissolved. Add 1 cup flour and stir until well combined. Add salt and just enough of the remaining flour to make a thick mass that is difficult to stir. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, add water to your hands kneading the dough in a large ceramic bowl. English muffin dough must be slightly over kneaded, and be much wetter than regular bread dough, so keep wetting your hands as you work and knead in as much water as possible.

RISE THE DOUGH
rise 2 hours
Stop kneading when the dough is soft.  Finally, cover and let the dough to rise for 2 hours. Try a deep wide bowl, cover with a huge plate to keep drafts away or if available, put it in a cold oven covered with a moist cloth. Cover all with a plastic bag. The moist dough will rise more quickly than its stiffer bread counterpart, because it is wet.

DIVIDE THE DOUGH
rise 2 hours
Divide the dough into (8) eight equal pieces and form each piece into a smooth round ball. Put the rounds on a very generously floured baking sheet, cover and let rise in a warm place 2 hours. The round balls of dough will have flattened down and spread out a bit.

HEAT GRIDDLE
Try (2) two cast iron griddles heating them between low medium – medium heat, much cooler than for pancakes. With a wide pancake turner and a magician’s sleight of hand, pick up the muffins, dust with cornmeal, and place them flour side down on the hot griddle. Turn after about 5 minutes (when brown on the bottom). Keep turning at 5-minute intervals to prevent the crust from burning. They are done when the sides, are springy. If in doubt open one and taste. Or one can take the little balls of dough by hand and gently place them on the hot griddle.

The final result was that these tasted great and looked like English muffins. The addition of a bit of kumquat all fruit spread, enhanced the English Muffin flavor. If you want more holes in your muffin, knead it more and increase the water.

LEFT OVER LEVAIN
Earlier you had some left over levain to save for another baking day. Take the left over levain and add to this ⅓ cup of water + ¼ cup of spelt flour; adding the water first. Mix well to aerate, adding fresh oxygen. Allow to rise a bit while you finish baking the bread then place in a cool area or in the refrigerator (I put mine in the wine cooler) for baking another day. This then becomes your new CHEF. Some have tried freezing the chef while they are traveling.

For a sweeter bread, fed the CHEF twice in a 24 hour period just before baking your next loaf. To bake your next loaf, allow CHEF, flour, water, and mixing bowl, all to come to room temperature. The process for making these non-yeasted breads is indeed a long one, but once you experience biting into a savory warm slice of spelt bread, made fresh from your own stone lined oven, you will be handsomely rewarded through your efforts. Early on I did a taste test. I thought my first loaves were flat and I assumed the taste would also be flat. I compared a slice from a commercially made loaf of non-yeasted spelt bread to my own, and my own won hands down.

Ingredients
1½ C. whole spelt flour
½ C. buckwheat flour
1½ tsp aluminum free baking powder
¼ tsp Himalayan pink salt
1 C. nut/grain milk (excluding soy)
1 egg yolk

Preparation
Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix. Mix the wet ingredients in a second bowl. Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined. Add milk or water to thin the batter. A cast iron skillet is best for cooking pancakes. If not available try an electric griddle. Add a few drops of oil to the skillet, then wipe with a cloth.  If sprinkled water dances and sizzles, the griddle is hot enough. Pour a ⅓ cup batter for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form then flip over. Serve with fresh fruit, fruit coulis. an all fruit jam or maple syrup.

These bread recipes use spelt flour, rice flour, corn flour, rye flour. Some 800 years ago Hildegard von Bingen, (St. Hildegard) wrote this about spelt:

“The spelt is the best of grains. It is rich and nourishing and milder than other grain. It produces a strong body and healthy blood to those who eat it and it makes the spirit of man light and cheerful. If someone is ill boil some spelt, mix it with egg and this will heal him like a fine ointment.”

Ingredients
Mash 2 very ripe bananas
2 egg yolks or
2 Tbsp egg replacer
2 Tbsp almond yogurt
¼ C. almond milk with lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil or
1 Tbsp coconut oil
½ C. Tupelo honey
2 C. sifted spelt flour
1 tsp Himalayan pink crystal salt
2 tsp Rumford (non aluminum) baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ C. chopped almonds

Preparation
Coat the bread machine bread pan with the oil. Add the ripe bananas, egg and honey to the bread machine. Select the dough setting and press start. Let it run until the bananas are well mixed. Add the dry ingredients: spelt flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Run the bread machine on the dough cycle. Push the flour down the sides of the bread machine. Let it rest for about twenty minutes. Mix again with the dough cycle for five minutes. Set it to the bake cycle and allow it to bake for about 35 – 40 minutes. Test with a toothpick or knife that it is done in the center. If you cook it in the bread machine for the full hour, the ends and the bottom can become over baked and work well as biscotti. After it has rested inside the bread machine for another twenty minutes with the baking cycle turned off; turn it upside down on a rack, let it cool, slice with a serrated knife, and enjoy. One can add a half a cup of chopped almonds to the bread during the dough cycle if you wish. The addition of nuts can cause a weight gain by combining a protein [almonds] with a grain [spelt]. I made this bread to assist me with weight gain following surgery.

In a traditional oven
Heat oven to 350º[in Europe this would be a moderate oven or 180º] Bake for about an hour and 30 minutes.

Ingredients:
3 apples chopped
½ lemon juiced
3 C. whole grain spelt flour
½ C. almonds
1 tsp cinnamon

In a second bowl
1¼ C. apple juice
¼ C. Tupelo honey → ¼ C. dates
6 Tbsp olive oil
1 vanilla bean scraped →
2 tsp vanilla powder
¼ tsp Himalayan salt

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350ºF (in Europe it would be moderate or 180ºC).
Slice the apples into ½ inch pieces. I put mine through a cute little machine which cores it, removes some of the skin and slices it into thin little rounds for me. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon over the apples to enhance the flavor.  Add the apples to the spelt flour, and  the chopped toasted almonds. Sprinkle the cinnamon over all and toss together with the olive oil and vanilla.

In second bowl slice open and remove the seeds from the vanilla bean, mix in ¼ teaspoon of  Himalayan ground salt;  add 1¼ cups of apple juice, add the sweetener and mix.  Then add the wet ingredients from the second bowl to the apple-spelt-cinnamon-almond mixture. Mix well. Transfer to an oiled cake pan and bake at 350ºF for about an hour and twenty minutes. Allow to cool at least an hour before serving. It will be more like a dense apple pudding cake. I have just baked this and the nuts are needed to give the cake texture, much like a fruit cake needs some nuts to provide a different crunch from the fruit. Once the cake has cooled and set, the texture resembles a bread pudding and the taste is much sweeter once all ingredients have had a chance to meld together.

This morning I had a slice of this cake with a cup of teeccino roasted grains beverage. It was sweet without being too sweet. It seems to be alkaline as it is made without any wheat, soy, sugar, or animal products such as milk, eggs, or cream.

A Few Sweeteners:
¼ C. Tupelo honey
¼ C. linden flower honey
2 tablespoons of Just like sugar® baking

After making almond milk, almond flour or meal will be caught in the muslin or cheesecloth. Spread this pulp on nonstick dehydrator sheet. Dehydrate at 105º for 24 hours or put it in the oven at the lowest possible setting for about 3-4 hours. Transfer the pulp to a food processor and grind to a silky flour. Store  in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This can be used for hempseed candies or other cookies in gluten free recipes that calls for nut flour.