This honey spelt bread is hearty, wholesome and incredibly simple to make. Made with 100% wholemeal spelt flour and (vegan) honey for sweetness and flavour, it has a soft, tender crumb and a deliciously nutty, slightly sweet flavour. If you want to start baking with ancient grains then this rustic loaf is a great place to start!
Why Bake With Spelt Flour?
Spelt is an ancient wheat variety with a nutty, slightly sweet flavour. It is more nutritious than modern wheat varieties and some people find it easier to digest. It does not behave exactly the same as regular flour when baking but in many cases it can be substituted 1:1.
This wholemeal honey spelt bread has a soft, tender crumb and delicious nutty, slightly sweet flavour. It is a little more crumbly and less chewy than bread made with modern wheat, but it still slices well and is perfect for sandwiches or toasting.
Honey Spelt Bread Ingredient Details:
You only need a couple of basic ingredients to make this honey spelt bread:
Wholemeal spelt flour: I use one by Doves Farm. White spelt flour will also work, or you can use 50:50 wholemeal and white.
Instant yeast: I always prefer to use instant yeast when making bread as it can just be added straight to the flour and doesn’t need to be activated first.
Honey: Either vegan honey, golden syrup, maple syrup or agave will work. You could even use treacle/molasses for a darker, richer loaf.
Salt: You simply cannot make good bread without salt. Don’t omit it.
How To Make Honey Spelt Bread:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
- Step 1: Mix the flour, yeast, salt, honey and water in a bowl to make a shaggy, sticky dough.
- Step 2: Knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. It should still be a bit sticky but not wet.
- Step 3: Place in an oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise until doubled in size.
- Step 4: Briefly knead the risen dough then pat it out on a floured surface into a rough rectangle.
- Step 5: Roll it up from one of the short sides into an oblong.
- Step 6: Place seam side down in a lined loaf tin.
- Step 7: Cover and leave to rise until puffy. Dust with flour and slash the top with a lame.
- Step 8: Bake for 40 minutes.
Top Tips:
USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
Make sure that your yeast isn't out of date! Old yeast can lead to dough that doesn’t rise.
The rising time of the dough will vary depending on how warm it is; on hot days it will rise much faster than on cold ones.
FAQ's:
Keep the honey spelt bread well wrapped at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Yes, make sure that the loaf has cooled completely first and freeze it on the day it is baked to preserve freshness. Freeze in a sealed freezer bag, either whole or in slices.
The best way to tell if bread is baked properly is to check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer. It should reach at least 90°C/194°F.
If you don’t have a thermometer then the loaf should sound hollow when you tap it on the bottom, and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the loaf should go in and out smoothly with little resistance and come out clean.
No. Spelt is a type of wheat and contains gluten. Some people who are sensitive to wheat may find spelt easier on the digestion but it is not suitable for coeliacs.
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Honey Spelt Bread
Equipment
- 1 kg/2 lb loaf tin
Ingredients
- 500 g (4 cups + 2 Tablespoons) wholemeal spelt flour plus extra for dusting
- 10 g (3 teaspoons) fast action yeast
- 10 g (1 ½ teaspoons) salt
- 60 g (3 Tablespoons) vegan honey, golden syrup or maple syrup
- 350 ml (1 ½ cups) lukewarm water
Instructions
- Tip the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the yeast to one side and the salt and honey to the other, pour in three quarters of the water and begin to mix into a shaggy dough. Add more water, a little at a time until you have picked up all of the flour from the sides of the bowl and you have a soft, sticky dough. You may not need to use all of the water or you may need a little more.500 g (4 cups + 2 Tablespoons) wholemeal spelt flour plus extra for dusting, 10 g (3 teaspoons) fast action yeast, 10 g (1 ½ teaspoons) salt, 60 g (3 Tablespoons) vegan honey, golden syrup or maple syrup, 350 ml (1 ½ cups) lukewarm water
- Tip the dough out onto an un-floured surface (coat the work surface with a little olive oil if you find the dough sticks too much) and knead for about five minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. It should be very sticky at first but become less so as you knead. Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover, and leave to rise until at least doubled in size, 1-2 hours.
- Line a 1kg loaf tin with baking parchment. Tip the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold inwards a couple of times until all the air is knocked out. Flatten the dough out slightly into a rectangle then roll it up from one of the short sides into an oblong. Place the dough in the prepared tin, making sure that the join is underneath.
- Put the tin inside a clean plastic bag, making sure that there is plenty of room between the tin and the bag for the dough to rise, and leave to prove for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until the dough is almost doubled in size and springs back slowly most of the way if you prod it lightly with a finger. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/180℃ fan/400°F/gas mark 6 and put a roasting tray in the bottom to heat up.
- Once the dough has proved, put the kettle on. Dust the top of the the dough with a little flour and use a lame or sharp knife to cut several diagonal slashes across the top. Fill the roasting tray with hot water to create steam (this helps to keep the crust soft) and put the dough in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes until cooked through, if you tip the loaf out of the tin and tap on the base it should sound hollow and the temperature in the centre should register at least 90°C/194°F on a probe thermometer. Cover with tin foil if it starts to colour too quickly.
- Remove from the tin and place on a wire rack to cool.
apuginthekitchen
Lovely loaf, I have spelt flour in my refrigerator, I don't know why I haven't used it yet. Love this loaf, I do love spelt and need to start baking with it. Very good tips.
Nancy
Beautiful loaf of bread, the texture looks to be perfect. Thanks for sharing it at Fiesta Friday!
Ginger
I have been thinking about spelt for a while now, it just looks so interesting. I've just never managed to actually do something with it. Thanks for sharing!
Domestic Gothess
I was pleasantly surprised, it is very tasty! I'm going to attempt to use it in cakes and biscuits next 🙂
Suchitra
Bread cannot be more rustic than this! What an easy recipe! Except the kneading part of course!
Domestic Gothess
I find the kneading quite relaxing, there's no need to be too gentle, so you can take out any anger/frustration you have on the dough!
Loretta
Wonderful loaf, do you think I could knead the dough with my dough hooks in my mixer? This looks just great, would love to try it out. 🙂
Domestic Gothess
Thank you! And yes it would be absolutely fine to use a mixer 🙂
Jhuls
Delicious looking cake, Hanna. 🙂
Jamie
This is the first time I've ever made bread and it turned out lovely with this recipe and instructions. Even my finicky 7 year old asked for seconds. Thank you!
Lou
Hey Hannah!
Thanks so much for posting this recipe. I made it for the first time today and it turned out amazing! I think my scale went bonkers and I accidentally put too much yeast. It was super tall and perfect crumb but tastes just a tad yeasty and not sweet at all, which I would think there'd be a hint of sweetness with the honey. I wonder if the yeast ate all the honey 😀
Thank you!
Sonjachardé Mixon
Good morning! Do you think I could use agave in place of the honey in this recipe??
hannahhossack
I think that should work fine 🙂
Buddy’s Mummy
What a wonderful find this recipe is! I had to buy a kilo of spelt flour for another recipe that required only five tablespoons and wanted to use the rest up. I cheated completely and used the ingredients in a bread making machine but it turned out so well that spelt flour might become a regular occupant of my flour cupboard. Thank you!
MP
This turned out wonderfully! The rise was beautiful (a bit faster than I expected, and I didn't think our kitchen was particularly warm, so I'm glad I kept an eye) and the texture was perfect. The taste was great too--I particularly like this one toasted, but it's also sturdy and tasty for a sandwich. I'll probably make this regularly now. Thanks so much!