Cracked Up Spelt Bread

An all whole grains bread with sourdough made from cracked wheat. Together with a soaker made with cracked rye there are actually more cracked grains in this bread than there is flour, which is whole grain spelt flour. Also, no additional yeast is added. Which means that the dough has to prove slightly longer than the usual. Decorated with sesame seeds the bread came out less dense than you'd think and is one of my new favorites.

Sourdough

• 125g (4 3/8 oz) cracked wheat
• 125ml (1/2 cup) water
• 20g (3/4 oz) wheat sourdough starter

Combine in a mixing bowl and stir. Cover with lid or plastic wrap and let prove at room temperature for 14-18 hours.

Soaker

• 100g (3 1/2 oz) cracked rye (rye meal)
• 100ml (3 3/8 oz) boling water

Poor water over rye and give it a stir. Cover with lid or plastic wrap and let soak at room temperature for at least 6 hours; leaving it out for the same time as the sourdough is also OK.

Main Dough

• Sourdough
• Soaker
• 200g (7 3/4 oz) whole grain spelt flour
• 50ml (1 5/8 oz) water
• 15g (2 tsp) salt
• sesame seeds to roll in

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and knead with the dough hook for about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.

Grease a rectangular 19cm (10") baking pan with butter. On a floured surface (I like to use whole grain rye for this) quickly knead and form into elongated shape. Brush surface with cold water and roll in sesame seeds, then place in baking pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let prove at 28°C (~ 82°F) for about 2 hours. You can get to that temperature by placing the pan in the oven with only the oven light on, or - of course - using a proofer.

Place a shallow baking pan, filled with ~ 300 ml (~ 1 cup) water on the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 250°C (485°F).

Place baking pan on middle rack and bake for 10 minutes. Then briefly open the oven door to let out excess steam and reduce temperature to 200°C (395°F). Bake for another 30-40 minutes.

Take out of the pan and let cool on cooling rack.

Based on a recipe by Jochen Baier, in "Deutschlands bester Bäcker" published by  Johann Lafer for Gräfe & Unzer. The original recipe went all in on the spelt and makes a 100% spelt bread. If you prefer that - or anything in between - replace some or all of the cracked grains by cracked spelt. I'm usually not a fan of 100% spelt bread so I replaced some of it by cracked wheat, some by cracked rye. Also, I haven't been able to find cracked spelt in the shops around here.