Spelt Bread

Having baked various types of bread before, trying spelt wheat bread was something that did make me a little concerned. Not least because it lacks the gluten content of standard wheat's, it can be a rather dense bread. But having mastered Rye bread and I can produce a loaf with a light crumb, I was reasonably confident that I had my technique right, but I was prepared for a failure. However, I was very pleased to discover that it worked first time.

I had tried using spelt before, many years ago but with mixed success. However my bread making skills have developed and now I can feel when I have the dough right. As spelt is not a cheap flour and I was using an organic one too, I could not afford to have made to many mistakes.

For those that don't know, spelt wheat is one of the oldest wheat's used for making bread. Used by the Egyptians four thousand years ago. However, it is the taste that really matters and it does make a great bread too.

The White Bread Myth

While looking into the history of bread that I discovered this rather odd fact, that it was during the industrial revolution that white bread became the norm. This was not because it was what people preferred, but the factory owners who also controlled the flour mills, wanted the workers to eat it as with far less roughage it meant that the workers needed fewer toilet breaks.

There is a myth that people preferred white bread and that was why it replaced the traditional wholemeal. But the reality was that it was not until urbanisation and industrialisation that white bread really started to be eaten by all but a few of the elite nobility as white bread was far more expensive to produce. That also meant that there was a demand for white bread as people wanted to emulate the upper classes, but this did not mean that the majority wanted or demanded white bread. Not least because to make white flour you loose 30 percent of the weight and volume when you remove the germ and the bran. Even the middle classes could not afford to loose that much, and in pre industrial Britain nothing was wasted.

Also in pre industrial Britain, bread was a product that was predominantly home baked and even in the 16th and 17th centuries it was possible to sieve out the bran. Therefore if people had truly been demanding white bread why were they not making it like that themselves? There are food historians who see the change to white bread as being consumer led, when the reality was it was imposed upon them by mill owners.

Equally as the population moved from the countryside, they became reliant upon bread made by “Journeymen Bakers” who set up in the new industrial centres. Because of the lack of hygiene with many of these bakers, having white bread enabled the industrialised population to avoid contaminated bread. Put simply, droppings that could be hidden in a wholemeal loaf were much more evident in white bread. This was why the Bakers were Journeymen, as the were often driven out of town because of these problems.

Thus while it was historically true that there was a switch to white bread at the same time of industrialisation, it was not because of a consumer demand for white bread, but imposition and avoiding the low hygiene standards of some of the bakers. Also at the same time as this social change was happening in Britain, on continental Europe, new milling processes were developed. Traditionally all flour had been ground using stones, but with steam power came the ability to use steel rollers to crack and grind the wheat. As stone milling can result in sparks if run to fast, resulting in mill fires. Steel Roller milling avoided this, and more wheat could be ground faster and the technology allowed the bran and germ to be removed making it possible to make white flour cheaper than wholemeal.

As white flour was now cheaper the working population made that switch to white bread, not because it was better but was cheaper. This switch to white bread mirrored another change, the health of the general population also became the worse that it ever was in Britain. While aspects of industrialisation have traditionally be blamed, and that will be true in some aspects, this major change in the diet was really at the centre of this. Further, because white flour was far easier to adulterate, the lower nutritional value of white bread was further reduced by adding items like chalk.

However the adulteration was far more dangerous than adding chalk, as often alum was added to bread. As it aided the rise and made the gluten more elastic it looked like bakers had found a magic ingredient, except that alum is a poison. It stops the body absorbing and making vitamin D, and indirectly white bread added to an epidemic of rickets in Britain.

This changed when Britain started to import wheat from Canada and America. With better wheat growing climates and different varieties, it was possible to have cheap and price stable, bread in Britain and Ireland for the first time.

All this was fine until the first world war, when grain supplies form overseas were interrupted. It took nearly three years for British agriculture to respond and by the end of the Great war all bread was wholemeal. As simply we could not allow thirty percent of the grain to be wasted.

The situation returned where Britain imported most of its bread grain, and white bread regained predominance. Just because it was cheap. As by this point the wheat-germ and the bran were now useful to feed livestock, so rather than grow bread wheat, British farmers just grew wheat for animal feed. As during the inter-war years the market for animal feed was limited, many farms closed down. Further, the wheat industry was controlled by a small group of large companies that milled the wheat and even controlled the bakeries across the nation. Thus white bread became the norm again.

Then came the second world war, and again importing wheat became difficult. However, the experience of the first world war actually provided lessons, and the war time government understood the need to produce food. Fortunately because so many farms had been abandoned and left unproductive, there was the land available to increase food production. Also, because of the waste that milling white flour produced, a type of bread was produced that was called “The National Loaf”. This was a bran rich semi Wholemeal, using a flour known as wheat-meal, containing 85% of the wholemeal. And it is here that the myth of white bread really takes hold.

The National Loaf was universally despised by everyone. It was not until talking to a retired baker who had started his apprenticeship during the war, did I discover that by law bakers could not sell bread on the day it was baked but only on the following day. Thus, during the war The National Loaf was stale bread, and who wants to eat stale bread? Therefore when in the early 1950s bread rationing was ended, the major millers that had controlled the bread industry returned to making the bread that made them the most profit. But also, bread became fresh again.

It was therefore no surprise that white bread became popular, as compared to the stale bread people had grown used to, a basic white loaf was better.

Equally at the same time was the need to feed a starving Europe, thus bread started to be made in ever larger quantises, in factories rather than bakeries. As a result a bakery industry research laboratory was set up in Chorley Wood. While it was supposed to represent all bakers, the smallest through to the largest, as often happens the largest players took control. Out of this what's now known as the Chorley-wood Bread Process was developed. This reduced the bread making process from three hours to one hour.

With lots of marketing, the British public were sold this new bread by all the major players. In fact it became nearly impossible to buy real wholemeal bread, and the only choice was only the different brands of the same bland, white pap being sold as bread.

Good white bread can be very good, but often it is just the bread of choice simply because it is cheap and what is available. Throughout history it has not so much been the bread of choice but what has been imposed by others. During the early Industrial years, it played a part in damaging public health. Equally, during the second world war, a type of wholemeal played its part in improving the nations health. It is for good reason that bread is called the staff of life.

This is where the Chorley-wood Bread Process has harmed real bread. Because so many people have been brought up only eating this poor excuse for bread, they just don't realise what real bread tastes like. As natural bread needs time to mature, for the flavours to develop, cutting the time to a third of the natural process means that majority of bread is flavourless. Further, as the Chorley-wood process, makes a bread that makes people feel bloated and could well be a contributory factor to bowel problems and coeliac disease.

It is telling that in my local village co-operative supermarket, it is the better quality breads that sell out fastest and what is often left is the cheap white pap. Additionally, across the nation there are quality artisan bakers making real bread in many different forms. So while the food industry has tried to ruin bread and most other foods too, real bread still exists and is growing in popularity.

While white bread has its place in the larder, there is nothing better than a good wholemeal loaf. There will never be a time when we will return to everyone making their own bread, nor will the cheap imitation of bread ever disappear, but slowly people are discovering what the food industry has tried to take away from us.

Bread Making

The staff of life, better known as bread is one of the essentials of life. Over the years there have been many occasions when I have made my own bread. So when the snow meant that there was no bread in my village co-op, I was able to return home and make my own. I was already prepared as when the commodity prices rocketed just before the banking collapse, I restarted making my own bread.

Not least because at that time the price of a loaf of decent wholemeal went up to £1.80 in the village stores and even in the supermarkets the price went up by nearly a third to over £1.50. So when I spotted that I could buy a bag of strong wholemeal flour for 58 pence as the bag was slightly damaged, I could see that from that I could make two loves for much less than a single bought loaf. While there is a cost in time and Energy, even with both these costs it still made it financially viable.

The only additional major cost at the time was another decent bread tin. While I already had a good one from a cheaper end of the types available, the better quality ones have a wider base and you end up with a better shaped loaf. Also if you just want to make bloomers or cottage loaf style bread then you don't even need a loaf tin, you just need a baking sheet. Again the best quality you can afford. Often one of three or four pounds cost will out last by many years one of one or two pounds cost. I know this from the experience of having wasted money on cheap ones in the past, and I would rather say now that good quality equipment that you will use regularly is far better than cheap rubbish that you loath to use.

Equally, I have had my disasters with making bread, and I am happy to enable you to benefit from my mistakes. The worst one was when I put two table spoons full of salt in to a recipe instead of the two tea spoons full. The only real other aspect that you need to be aware of is not having had the bread rise sufficiently I have made this mistake myself, and found the solution unexpectedly. Following mixing a batch of dough, there was a gas leak near by. Thus the gas had to be shut off, so I could not place the dough in the warm place near the boiler to prove (allow the yeast to rise the bread dough). So I placed it in the fridge and waited until the gas reconnected. This happened the following day. Much to my amazement even in the fridge the dough had risen. And via experimentation it takes 24 hours, so even if you have not got an ideal location to prove the dough, if you allow sufficient time, you should never have a loaf that has not risen sufficiently

Just like any other type of cooking, bread making is actually very easy. When I first said to friends that I was going to try making bread for the first time, I was told that it was very difficult and that I should not even try. Having already bought the bread tin and the ingredients, I was left wondering if I had wasted my money, but the only way to really discover if this was to difficult was to give it a try. Using the recipe given below, I made the attempt and I discovered it was one of the easiest tasks I had undertaken. While it does take time for the dough to rise, the preparation and time for needing the dough was less than ten minutes. Even clearing up and washing up took no longer than it would from washing up after any other cooking. So those myths were dispelled quickly. But the real revelation was just how good freshly baked bread tasted.

Bread Basic Recipe

Notes:

For making bread you need what is described as “Strong” plain flour. This describes a flour that has a high protein level and this is better for making bread. It is perfectly possible to make a reasonably good bread using the plain flour that is used for cakes and pastries, but you get a superior taste and better nutriment value from bread by using a bread flour. For this recipe you can use a wholemeal, that is a flour where all the bran is included, a wheat-meal where the bran is removed and is 81 to 95% of the wholemeal, or a strong white flour. Also you can use a stone-ground flour. As the use of stones while milling the flour generates heat, this toasts the flour and adds to the flavour. However, the choice of flour is really dependant upon your personal tastes.

Salt is essential for making any ground grain taste better. Without salt grains would be unpalatable. However, by making your own bread you will be able to control the level of salt in your diet far more. Often salt and sugars are added to commercial breads to improve the taste of poorer quality flours.

Fat is essential to make the bread moist. Again making your own you will have greater control over the amount of fat in your diet. Not just the amount but the type. Even the good quality breads from supermarkets are often made using cheap fats and the cheapest fats are also the saturated fats. These are the ones that are less than healthy. Also to help make commercial bread last longer they will have more fats than you would use when making your own.

Making bread from fresh yeast was the norm half a century ago. This was when every village and town had its own baker and you could buy fresh yeast from them. But with the loss of the local baker where the bread is prepared and baked on the premisses, it is almost impossible to buy fresh yeast. The only source that I have locally is twenty miles away. So I personally have no problem with using a dried yeast. In fact the first time I tried to use fresh yeast it was not as fresh as I had been led to believe, a friend had obtained it for me, and it was a week old when I finally got it, thus it was already moribund. Where with dried yeast I have never had any problem. Further it is best to use just the quantity stated in any recipe, if you use more than stated the bread will have an overwhelming yeast flavour.

While sugar is added to so many foods to improve the taste of lower quality ingredients, here the use of sugar is to provide food for the yeast. Even dried yeast is living and to multiply and work as the rising agent in bread you need to feed the yeast. While the recipe says use fine caster sugar, you can use granulated sugar, but it may take longer for the bread to rise properly.

When I first started making bread the use of the term “tepid” was a real mystery for me. What temperature was meant by that term. I knew that if the water was to hot it would kill the yeast. Equally if the water was to cold it would take longer for the yeast to become active, so that you need the water to be warm enough to provide the ideal conditions for the yeast. An easy way to get the water to the right temperature is to cold water from the tap you pour in water just off the boil from the kettle and the water will be the right temperature for the yeast to become active.

Thus the myths of bread making are dispelled.

One last tip, always use either metric or imperial measurements as if you try and mix the two, you will find the results a disappointment as the balance can be lost.

Ingredients

700g 1.5lb Strong plain Flour
10ml 2 teaspoons salt
Knob of fat (I prefer to use butter but this can be lard)
7.5ml one & half level teaspoons of dried yeast (15g ½oz of fresh yeast can be used but is not easily available)
5ml one teaspoon of caster sugar
400ml (¾pint of tepid water) about 43 degrees C or 110F

Method

Depending upon if you are making Rolls or two small loves or one large loaf, grease a two pound tin or two one pound tin or two baking sheets.

Sift the flour and the salt into a large bowl and rub in the fat.

If using fresh yeast blend with the water.
If using dried yeast add the sugar to the water then sprinkle the yeast over the water and leave to start frothy.

Mix the dry ingredients with the yeast water with a wooden spoon and work to form a firm dough. You can add extra flour to the mixture if needed to get this firm dough and this is where the dough leaves the sides of the bowl easily. If you add to much extra flour the dough will be to stiff and the bread will be heavy and dense.

Turn the dough on to a lightly floured surface and kneed the dough thoroughly so that you stretch and develop the dough. The kneading process can be best described as pulling it towards you with your fingers while heeling it away with the palm of your hand. Continue this until the bread dough feels elastic and is no longer sticky. The better you kneed the dough the more evenly the yeast will be distributed through the dough but it is possible to over work, over kneed, the dough too.

Shape the dough into a ball and return to the mixing bowl. The dough needs to be covered and lightly oiled (greased) greaseproof paper I find works best. In old recipe books they would say cover with a damp cloth, but this can leave fluff on the bread and no matter how clean a tea towel is I feel it is not that hygienic In modern books they will say use a plastic bag, but as most people will have previously used the bag for other uses, again I have hygiene issues with this. By using greaseproof paper, you can stop the dough getting a dry crust on it as well as keeping the dough clean while still allowing it to rise. It needs to double in size, and this will normally take ¾ to 1 hour in ideal conditions, but allow two hours if rising the dough at room temperature Also as stated in the bread posting allow 24 hours if proving the dough in the fridge, but you also need to let the dough rest for a hour at room temperature.

Turn the risen dough onto a floured surface and knock it back with your knuckles. Forget other forms of stress relief making bread can be a great way of getting rid of stress. Kneed the dough and make it firm for shaping. If making two small loves divide the bread into two or if making rolls you can get up to 18 rolls. Or just make one single loaf. The bread needs to rise again inside the tin or if rolls on the baking sheets. If making rolls space them about 2.5cm (1 inch) apart so that as they rise and expand.

When the dough has had its second rising in a tin it will be level or over the top of the tin. Cut a score down along the length of the loaf as while cooking it will expand further and this cut will allow the bread to expand.

In the base of the oven place a bowl of boiling water, bake the bread in a hot oven 230 C that's 450 F or gas mark 8 for 30 to 40 minutes for loves or 15 to 20 minutes for rolls, until well risen and golden brown. When cooked the rolls will be double in size. The loaves will shrink away from the sides of the tin and will sound hollow on the base when tapped.

Cool on a wire rack