PKD Recipes

Spelt Bread

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.

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

Four steps to bake non-yeasted spelt bread.
CHEF Step1-One begins with CHEF
LEVAIN Step2-Second is the LEVAIN
BAKING Step3-Third step is BAKING the bread
CARING LEFT OVER LEVAIN Step4-Making a new CHEF
= = = =

CHEF Step1 (Takes 4 days to make)
Day 1
3 Tbsp water
5 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. Because I have PLD, I omit adding any additional yeast.

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. Or if you happen to have a place about 70º like a wine cooler, then this is perfect for a developing chef.

CHEF Step1
Day 2
3 Tbsp water
5 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 Step1
Day 3
3 Tbsp water
5 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 Step1
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 Step2
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 LEVAIN.

LEVAIN Step2
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.

PREPARING TO BAKE
Ingredients
⅓ C. water
1 C. LEVAIN (save remainder for baking another day)
1 Tbsp Himalayan pink crystal salt
2 ¼  – 4 C. spelt flour

PREPARING TO BAKE
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 LEVAIN 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 or put in a bread mixer with a dough hook for 15 minutes. 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.

PREPARING TO BAKE
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. If you have a bread machine, lightly oil the inside of the machine. Keep the bread machine turned off with the door closed, a perfect place for a 2-hour rise.
Rise 2 hours.

PREPARING TO BAKE
LET THE DOUGH REST
rest 30 minutes
Deflate the dough by pushing down in the center and pulling 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.

PREPARING TO BAKE
SHAPE THE LOAVES (5 minutes)
rest 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 a torpedo or fit it within an oiled bread pan or line your bread pan with parchment paper. Knead it tightly.

PREPARING TO BAKE
SECOND RISE OF THE DOUGH (2 hours)
rise 2 hours
Place the dough seam side down in a traditional bread-baking pan that has been lightly oiled or place the loaf seam-side up in a well-floured couche within a basket. A basket or bowl with a diameter of 8 inches and a depth of 3 – 4 inches will do. Lay inside a clean, lightweight even linen towel dusted with flour. By letting the dough rest in a cushioned, floured container, this will give a loaf that will take on the shape and markings of the basket. The crust will be thicker and bolder from the extra flour becoming embedded in the dough upon rising. This creates a rustic, earthy looking crust. Place in a moderately warm 74º – 80º F draft free spot until almost doubled in volume, approximately 2 hours. Sometimes I wrap everything with a thick towel to protect the rising bread from any drafts. Cover and allow it to rise for an additional 2-4 hours until doubled in size. Or place it in the fridge overnight if you wish to bake the bread the following morning.

PREPARING TO BAKE
REFRIGERATED DOUGH
rise 2-4 hours if refrigerated
When the dough is shaped it is at this point that the dough can be put into the refrigerator overnight. Refrigerating overnight is an important step to decrease the phytic acid content. The following morning (if you have placed the loaf in the refrigerator overnight) allow it 1-2 hours to come to room temperature and allow it to rise an additional 2-4 hours.

BAKING
IMPORTANT STEP
Score Dough
Using a very sharp, serrated knife or a single-edge razor blade, score the loaf by making quick shallow cuts 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep along the surface. I always seem to forget this. If baking in a basket or free form, use a well-floured smooth linen or smooth cotton towel (called a couche) as an aid, gently roll one loaf from the couche (towel) onto a lightly floured wooden plank (known as a peel) so that it sits seam side down. Use the peel to slide the loaf onto the hot baking stone. At this point if you want a free form flatter rounder bread, just place it on the heated stone. I sometimes prepare my breads free form by braiding the dough and allowing it to rise. Once I preheat the oven and pop it in, spray the walls, I pull up a chair and watch the show unfold as the bread beautifully starts rising taking on a golden brown color. This glorious piece of dough made with water, salt, and flour suddenly are transformed as they begin to expand, inflate and take on a life of their own. The aromas fill my kitchen.

BAKING
Pre-heat the oven to 450º F about 45 minutes to an hour before you are going to bake. Position the baking stone in the center of the oven. When the dough is first put into the oven spray the oven walls with water from a sprayer. Repeat this in about five minutes and again in another five minutes.
Preheat your baking stone or oven to 450º.

If you are lucky enough to own a combi-steam oven such as the Miele, there is a spelt bread Masterchef mode.

BAKING Step3
CREATING STEAM
Quickly spray the inner walls and the floor of the oven with cold water from spray bottle or splash water into the oven from a bowl. The idea is to create an abundance of hot steam. Avoid hitting the light bulb in some ovens, or it may burst. Close the oven door to trap the steam, wait three minutes and repeat the process. Alternatively get an old pan fill it with clean rocks and pour water over the heated stones. I use both techniques. Or heat a clay pot and its cover in the oven transferring the risen ready to bake dough into the heated clay pot.

BAKING
Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. Rap the baked loaf with the back of your knuckles. If it sounds hollow, it is done, if not bake for an additional 5 minutes.
NOTE.
Now I try to bake bread on flower days according to the bio-dynamic methods described by Rudolph Steiner. There is an free online calendar here. Or Marie Thun’s calendar can also be purchased.

COOLING THE BAKED BREAD
Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting for 24 hours. I usually cannot wait and a slice into the freshly baked bread straight away. It crumbles and is difficult to slice. Then I do wait 24 hours before putting it in a bread slicing machine. The bread behaves much differently when allowed to cool. The texture is firmer.

CARING LEFT OVER LEVAIN Step4
Once you have measured out the LEVAIN for the Spelt Bread Recipe, you will have a bit left over. Add to what you have left-over, 5 tablespoons of water (⅓ cup) and 8 tablespoons of flour (½ cup). Add the water first, then flour. Mix to aerate. Allow it sit out while the bread bakes; then place in a cool place like the refrigerator. This becomes your new CHEF.

CARING LEFT OVER LEVAIN Step4
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.

Pie Crust Low Fat Vegan

Ingredients
1¼ C. spelt flour
5 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp almond milk + extra water
½ tsp Himalayan salt

Preparation
Preferably in a food processor combine the flour and olive oil. If none is available use a pastry cutter or two knives. Cut the oil into the flour until it resembles coarse oatmeal. Slowly add almond milk a tablespoon at a time to the food processor until it begins to form a ball. Add additional water as needed. Turn it out onto a floured board. Put it in glass container with a lid for (4 ) four hours or refrigerate overnight. Divide into two (2) pieces.  Then add the remaining flour as you roll out the pie crust. Roll it out so it is about an inch beyond the border of the pie. I just invert the empty pie plate over the rolled dough to see if I need to roll it a bit more. Place the pie crust over the floured roller and gently place it on the pie plate. Some fill the baking pie crust with beans so it doesn’t puff up. Others put holes in the bottom crust with a fork. I just watch it bake.

Bake at 350º for ten minutes, until golden. Fill with your favorite filling.

Avocado Spelt Pasta

Ingredients
1 C. spelt flour
1 avocado
1 egg
Slowly add water so it resembles oatmeal

Preparation
Make your own pasta using a food processor. Add the avocado to 1 cup of flour, 1 egg, and enough water so the mixture resembles oatmeal. Add a dash of salt. Once it resembles coarse oatmeal, turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead the dough. Let it rest about twenty minutes before rolling it out and sliving it into pasta shapes. Dust with additonal flour and let it dry for about 15 minutes.

Serve with sautéd onion, fresh garden peas, and mushrooms. When you take the time to make your own pasta, the pasta is King of the dish.

Porridge

Oatmeal
4 rice cups of water (small cups)
2 rice cups of thick oats
¼ C raisins
½ apple
1 tsp cinnamon
⅙ tsp Himalayan salt

Oatmeal in a Rice Cooker
Pour four rice cups of water into a rice cooker; add 2 rice cups of thickly cut oats. Set the rice cooker and allow it to cook for about 15 minutes. Give it a stir when it is fluffy. Serve with almond milk.
Brown Rice in a Rice Cooker
Pour 3 cups of water in a rice cooker. Add 1 ½  cups of uncooked short grain brown rice and set it to cook. Hot steamy brown rice is wonderful when recovering from surgery. Some cookers also have a steamer tray that fits over the top of the cooking rice or grains. I put two cups of broccoli or some carrots in the steamer and when it is finished I can have brown rice with steamed vegetables that is easy to prepare and easy on an ailing body.

Spelt Porridge
Chop spelt grains in the food processor then soak overnight. I have tasted spelt cooked whole and chopped. I prefer the taste of the chopped. It resembles a bowl of warmed chopped nuts. The whole kernels also taste yummy. Experiment and see, which 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: (or 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 who is really into minimizing phytates –for cakes, cookies, and muffins she soaks the spelt kernels overnight. In the morning she dries these in the oven making a spelt bulgur. Then she grinds the spelt bulgur into flour that will not require any further soaking to rid it of phytic acid. Her breads, nuts, grains are all made with a long slow cooking methods requiring twenty four hours or longer to make grains, nuts much more digestible.

Roasted Grain Beverage

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp spelt berries
1 Tbsp buckwheat
3 Tbsp brown rice
2 Tbsp adzuki beans
1 Tbsp chickpeas
1 Tbsp chicory
1 Tbsp olive oil

Preparation
In a pan, roast grains and beans separately until well browned. Mix together and add oil. Cool and grind into powder. Prepare beverage to desired strength pouring boiling water over all.

Ingredients Spelt Kaffee
1 C. soaked spelt grain

Roasting Spelt
Roast spelt in a cast iron skillet until brown all over. Transfer all but 2 tablespoons of the kernels to a bowl, and continue roasting the remaining kernels until they are very dark in color, but not burned. Remove the kernels and mix with the lighter brown ones.

Prepare Spelt Roasted Beverage
To make 2 cups of spelt coffee, place 2 cups of water in a 1-quart saucepan; bring to a boil. Add 3 heaping tablespoons of the roasted kernels, and boil for about 10 minutes, or until the water is brown in color. Strain the brew, reserving the kernels, and serve. Add a few SPELT kafee kernels to the old kernels each day, until some kernels start to fall apart. Then discard and roast a new batch.

Hildegard von Bingen
“Spelt (Dinkel) is the best grain, warming, lubricating and high in nutritional value. It is better tolerated by the body than any other grain. Spelt provides the consumer with good flesh and good blood and confers a cheerful disposition. It provides a happy mind and a joyful spirit. No matter how you eat spelt, either bread or in other foods, it is good and easy to digest… If someone is ill boil some spelt, mix it with egg and this will heal him like a fine ointment… Spelt porridge, spelt bread and spelt coffee constitute the ideal breakfast.. Spelt is the food of the future.”––Hildegard von Bingen (composer, scientist, writer) 1133 A.D. She was a woman. If she had not been part of a nunnery, she could never have written her books on how food heals. Woman were not allowed to be learned. She had visions and was taught much of her knowledge through this.

Caffeine
Kick the caffeine habit. Caffeine even in small amounts can stimulate cyst growth, unfortunately for many of us, this includes de-caffeinated chocolate. For someone who drinks a lot of caffeine, the eventual result can be fatigue, anxiety, depression and insomnia. Caffeine affects the body in many ways. Caffeine can leech calcium from the body, which is especially problematic if you are at risk for osteoporosis. While trying to eliminate caffeine from the diet, one is likely to experience caffeine withdrawal symptoms including fatigue and severe headaches. Excessive consumption of caffeine increases blood pressure, causes cholesterol levels to rise, and disturbs heart rhythms. Caffeine can increase gastrointestinal problems, including gastric reflux and acid stomach. Caffeine contributes to fibrocystic breast disease. Caffeine impairs fertility. Are there any alternatives to caffeine? It depends upon what you seek from your daily coffee or soda. If you enjoy the warm, comforting feeling of coffee in the morning, try a different morning drink: roasted grain beverage such as Inka, Caffix.

Enjoy these hot drink alternatives.
Avoid these alternative hot drinks.

Date Nut Bread

Ingredients
1 ¼ C. water
2 C. chopped dates
3 Tbsp coconut oil
1 egg yolk
½  tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp Tupelo honey
Zest and juice 1 orange
2 C. spelt flour
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
½  tsp baking soda
⅛ tsp Himalayan pink salt
½ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1½ C. chopped walnuts
For more sweetness ↑ honey 4 Tbsp

Preparation
Preheat oven 320º Line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
Boil 1 ¼ cups of water. Add chopped dates and coconut oil to the water. Let stand until cool, about 30 minutes. With a fork stir egg, honey, vanilla into cooled date mixture. In a large bowl combine spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cloves, orange zest and juice.  Stir the flour mixture with the date mixture just until evenly moistened. Stir in chopped walnuts. Bake for an hour and 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan to slice. Cut into slices and serve warm. Careful this bread is a weight gainer, combining nuts and grains. This date nut bread is not a typical date nut bread. It is not very sweet, but it is complex in the best way. Perfect as an afternoon snack with a cup of hot hibiscus tea.

Spelt Crêpes

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.

Spelt Pancakes

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.

Spelt Porridge

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.

Spelt Tortillas

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.

Spelt Chapatis

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.

Sprouted Spelt Chapattis

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.

Buttermilk Like Pancakes

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.

Pita Simple

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.

Irish Soda Bread – low sodium

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.

Pita without yeast

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.

Tabouli by Ruth

Make spelt bulgur
Steam the washed spelt kernels in double the amount of water until the liquid is absorbed and the spelt is tender (about 1 hr. or less). Spread thinly on cookie sheet or shallow pan and place in oven at 200ºF maybe for an hour, until the spelt is dry enough to crack easily. Crack the dried spelt in food processor. Store in airtight container.
Preparation
Place 1 cup of bulgur in 2 cup of boiling water, cover and allow it to steam cook for about 45 minutes until tender.
Mince:
4 bunches of cilantro leaves
½ C. fresh mint leaves
1 small onion
3 Radishes sliced thinly
Combine in a bowl with bulgur
In a separate bowl mix:
2 C. cooked spelt bulgur
¼ C. olive oil
¼ – ½ C. lemon juice
1 tsp Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt
Preparation
Mix everything thoroughly. This is best kept overnight in the refrigerator. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Irish Soda Bread – Patti’s

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.

English Muffins Spelt No Yeast

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.

Pancakes Buckwheat Spelt

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.

Spelt

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.”

Bread Machine Banana Bread

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.

Banana Cake

If using buttermilk + egg this is not vegan.
Ingredients
1 ½ C. banana (5 bananas)
¼ C. almond milk with lemon juice
or cultured buttermilk
1 egg yolk
½ C. tupelo honey
3 C. spelt flour
¼ tsp Himalayan pink crystal salt
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Preparation
Place the ripe banana, almond milk, egg yolk, and honey in a food processor. Add spelt flour, tupelo honey continue mixing. While the processor is going, add the salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Continue until all is well incorporated.
Preheat the oven to 350º
Line a bundt pan with parchment paper or spray with oil. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Any left over cake can be cut into strips and baked in the oven to dry like biscotti.

Apple Cake Vegan

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

Apple Cake Bread Machine

Ingredients Apple Mixture
2 Apples Golden Delicious variety.
Leave the skin on, use a knife or an apple slicer or if you have one of those delightful machines that turns, peels cores and slices the apple, use this to create a delightful apple pattern across the top.
2 tsp cinnamon
1½ lemons juiced
½ tsp Himalayan pink crystal salt
⅓ C. tupelo honey
1 egg yolk or
Egg substitute
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp vanilla

Ingredients Cake
2 C. white Spelt Flour
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp Rumford® no aluminum baking powder
½ C. chopped soaked roasted almonds
¼ C. almond milk

Bread Machine Preparation
In a large bowl, toss the chopped apples with the cinnamon and squeezed lemon juice. Add the egg yolk, honey, vanilla, and olive oil. Mix with a spoon. Allow it to rest for about ten minutes to make its own juices. Sift the dry ingredients over the apple mixture. Mix by hand to form a batter consistency. Add the chopped almonds. Lightly oil the tin of the bread machine. Set on the bake cycle for about an hour. Turn it upside down on a towel. If you leave the chunks of apples large, its taste resembles a pie. I didn’t even allow it to cool or set before tasting it.

Conventional Oven
Pour ½ apples and batter into a large cake pan that has been lined with parchment paper to prevent it from sticking. Decoratively fan the remaining apples across the top in a swirling pattern. Bake at 375º oven until golden about 30 minutes.