PKD Recipes

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 ⅔ and allow 30 minutes rest at least for full development. I find the time and patience needed for baking non-yeasted spelt bread so very relaxing.
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.
LEVAIN
knead 5 minutes
rise 6-10 hours
Add the entire CHEF
1 ¼ Cup spelt flour
Knead for 5 minutes, allow the newly formed LEVAIN to rise for 6-10 hours inside the bread machine with the bread machine turned off. Do not allow it to rise for longer than 10 hours or there will not be enough oomph to get your bread to rise. This will usually make greater than 18 ounces of LEVAIN.

Prepare the Bread
1 ¼ cups of LEVAIN (save remainder for another baking day)
¼ cup warm water (warm to the inside of the wrist)
1 tablespoon of tupelo honey
¼ teaspoon Himalayan pink crystal salt
2 teaspoons Vital Gluten (can omit)
1 ½ cup spelt flour

Preparation
knead 15 minutes
Allow the LEVAIN and all ingredients to come to room temperature. Warm the water a little. If your flour is cold from being kept in the fridge, warm it too a little. This meticulousness helps the bread to ferment and rise nicely. The dough behaves quite differently if brought to room temperature. Mix the LEVAIN and water together and place it in the bread machine on the dough cycle of the bread machine. Let it run for about 5 minutes or until the LEVAIN is partly dissolved. While the bread machine is mixing add ¾ cup of flour to the bread machine. Add the honey, salt, vital gluten and just enough of the remaining ¾ cup flour so it forms a thick mass. Stop the bread machine. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour until the dough is firm and smooth, about 25-50 times. The dough is ready when a little dough pulled from the mass springs back quickly. Shape the dough into a ball.

Rising the dough, 2 hours in the bread machine
rest 15 minutes
Let the dough rest on the lightly floured surface, while you lightly oil the bread machine pan. Place the dough in the bread machine and turn once to coat with oil.
rise 2 hours
It needs to rest about 2 hours with the bread machine turned off with the door closed.

Let the Dough rise 30 minutes
rise 30 minutes
Deflate the dough by pushing down in the center and pulling up on
the sides. Shape in back into a tight torpedo and place back into the bread machine for 30 minutes.

Second Rise of the Dough Takes 2 hours
rise 2 hours
Place the dough seam side down inside the bread machine pan and close the bread machine door but do not turn it on. Allow the bread to rise until almost doubled in volume, approximately 2 hours. Sometimes about this time I might go to sleep. If I do, I place the bread machine pan with the dough inside the refrigerator. In the morning I take it out and allow it to come to room temperature for about an hour. This process greatly decreases phytic acid.

Cold Refrigerated Dough
rise 2-4 hours
If your dough is cold, take it out of the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature (about 1-2 hours), then allow it to rise an additional 2 hours. Then bake the bread.

Baking the Bread
score loaf
bake bread
Open the door to the bread machine and remove the pan. Close the door and turn on the bread machine on the bake cycle. If you have a choice set it to dark crust. Using a very sharp, serrated knife or a single-edge razor blade, score the loaf by making quick shallow cuts ¼ to ½ inch deep along the surface. I always seem to forget this.

Bake for an hour or however long your bake cycle is. Once finished baking, remove the loaf from the bread machine, rub a little oil on the outside crust and wrap it in a towel as it cools.
cool overnight
Allow to cool thoroughly before slicing. The slices come out better when cool. The bread continues to bake as it cools.

Left over LEVAIN to make a new CHEF
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 chef when traveling.