Spelt Bread!

A bit of a blooper but it still worked and tasted great!!!   Before I get started, the final rise of this bread was too long (as I tried to do this while I was working my day job......someday I will learn, slow down!!!)

So this is my favorite bread recipe and I make this 2-3 times a week as it saves tons of money on buying good bread and I really do love making it.

6cups of white finely milled Spelt flour.
2.5 cups of very warm water.
1tsp of dry yeast
1.5 tbsp of honey
2.5 tsp sea salt, use the good stuff (I actually will use almost 3tsp, the more salt the better your dough will taste, trust me!)

The flour and yeast go into a bowl and are blended together.  The very warm water and honey are stirred together, until the honey is dissolved, and poured into the flour and yeast mixture.  DO NOT ADD THE SALT YET!!  I mix these ingredients together until everything is properly blended.

Once the first four ingredients are well blended, then the salt is added and this is what will make the dough come together.  Just keep mixing and kneading (right in the bowl) and it will first be sticky and gooey but will come together and form a nice ball of dough.......give it a few minutes!

Let this rise for 1-2 days.  I usually put it on the top shelf in my kitchen and just let it go for 24 hours then on the second night I will either make bread or put it in the fridge until the next day.  If you do put it in the fridge, make sure you take it out and let it warm up before you use it again.  The dough is placed on a floured surface and a dusting of flour is put on top.

This is kneaded again for about 10-15 minutes.  The dough is then cut into pieces for shaping.  It is shaped (what ever you want) and put onto a tray,covered and placed back in the same place of initial rising for another hour.  While the shaped dough is rising turn the oven on to 425F and let it get hot.  Once you have done the second rising it is ready to go into the oven.  If you have or can find a spray bottle it is great to spray the dough lightly with water to get a better crust.  Place in the oven at 425F for 8 minutes and then turn the oven down to 350F and let it bake until it is ready.   The heat in your oven, the size of your dough, the shape will determine when it is done, usually about 10-25 minutes more.  You will know if your bread is ready when you flip it over and tap it on the bottom and it sounds hollow.

Some tips; 
1.  Let the dough rise in a warm and preferably moist environment.
2.  Don't be afraid if the dough stinks after a day of rising, it will taste better.
3. The more salt the better it will taste.
4. Don't worry if the dough is sticky and gooey and all over the place to start, it will come together and form into a ball but get in there!

I know there are more tips but start with this and let me know how your bread turns out.

Have a great day!