I’m in search of some advice about using Sprouted Whole Spelt Flour. Now that I have a nice big bag of it, I read somewhere that it is not suitable for sourdough. Can anyone speak to this? Can I use sprouted spelt where regular whole spelt is called for? Thanks in advance.
Absolutely, you can use it for bread. I love sprouted spelt. I would do no/minimal autolyse though because sprouted flour has more enzymatic activity.
Here’s a recipe that uses sprouted spelt specifically:
(If you don’t have whey, just use diluted yogurt, milk, or slightly less water.)
Here’s a recipe that specifies regular spelt, but I’ve made it with sprouted spelt countless times:
Thanks for the tips and recipes Melissa. Just to clarify, in the braided loaf the short autolyse is already built into the instructions, but in any other recipes calling for unsprouted spelt, I would reduce or eliminate the time when using sprouted flour?
I’m excited to try the braided loaf first. After coil folds, when asked to let it double in size, can you give me a rough estimate of time that will take?
Yes, reduce or eliminate the autolyse if you use sprouted flours.
Here’s a thread with some general info on autolysis.
I personally tend to skip autolysis in most of my bakes because my bulk fermentation often includes refrigeration and is therefore on the longer side. I feel that the benefits of autolysis are minimized through the long bulk fermentation, so all I am left with is the inconvenience of two mixing stages. That’s just my opinion/process though.
The time your dough takes to double could range from 3-8 hours after you mix it. It depends on the ambient temp, your water temp, starter vigor, and if you use water vs. whey. I’d ballpark about 5 hours at 75F but no promises.
Here are two blog posts that I think you’ll find interesting and helpful. The first gives some shortcut info on fermentation principles, and the second discusses flour types.
Thanks so much Melissa. Although not perfect, I consider my first loaf a success. What I learned along the way: Get an early start! In my cold house I needed 8 hours of fermentation time for the dough to double. I also see that I should have deflated the dough more aggressively and braided it tighter. The flavor is excellent and I can see lots of ways we will be enjoying this in the next few days.
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@oaklandpat That looks so inviting! When my mom would bake challah (braided egg bread), I would sit in front of the oven literally watching it bake. When it came out my mom would have to shoo me away and emphatically implore me NOT to touch that bread; that it had to cool first. Being a slightly rebellious child, I would wait just long enough for the bread to not burn my fingers then I would tear into it, ripping off the tops of the braids and scarfing them down with great enthusiasm. Mom wouldn’t be happy! Though secretly I think she accepted that act as a great compliment to her baking skills. So please know that I just want to rip those braided tops off and eat them with great enthusiasm! Enjoy!
Leah
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That really looks great! Good job letting it ferment all the time it needed.
I had that “wish I’d de-gassed the dough more” realization the first time I shaped bagels.
Thanks for your enthusiasm and memories Leah. It sounds like you need to make this recipe quick so that you can rip into it whenever you want! I didn’t think I was a challah fan, but may now be changing my mind.
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Thanks Melissa. One remaining puzzle for me is the timing. I either need to get up super early to get it going, figure out a way to ferment it faster, or work out an overnight fridge rest for a morning bake. I mixed my dough at 8:30 am, and it didn’t come out of the oven till 9pm. Any way you slice it…a good problem to have!
@oaklandpat I did try and make this when I first started my bread journey. Mine was an unmitigated bread FAILURE! I actually wrote about it here on the forum. If you’d like a good laugh at my poor excuse of a braided bread here’s that link: Epic bread FAIL!
Grab a cuppa something warm and laugh out loud! I haven’t tried to make it since. 
Leah
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For things to go faster, the easiest things to manipulate are probably temperature and inoculation:
Use (even) warmer liquid in the mix and keep the dough warmer throughout: oven with light on, under a lamp, on a dough warmer like this Raisenne.
Increase the amount of sourdough starter in the recipe (this won’t make the dough more sour). It’s already pretty high at 160g but you could go up to 200g without changing anything – maybe pull 10-20g of the liquid.
Speaking of liquid, if you used milk, you could scald it. Bring it over 180F to denature the proteins that slow fermentation. Make sure you let it cool down to about 90F before you mix. (If you’re using thin yogurt or whey, this isn’t necessary since it was already brought over 180F at the start of the yogurt making process.)
Alternatively, you could reverse all this: Mix your dough at night with cold liquid, maybe put it in a basement or even outside, use less starter etc. It might be ready for braiding in the morning.
I think you’re ready to try this again! Mix up a nice dry dough…no wet fingers…
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@Fermentada I’ve actually been thinking of trying again. When I do, I’ll let you know, success or fail! Of course, IF I fail again I may not tell my mom!
Leah
Great tips. I did use milk and did not scald it, so that sounds like an easy fix. My go to place for fermentation in the winter is our closet which houses the hot water heater and furnace. But even in there, my dough temperature never got past 73. You wouldn’t think of California as being so cold, but I woke to 37 degrees outside in the Bay Area today!
Go for it Leah! Be sure to follow the recipe above. Sounds like your “epic fail” was for a traditional challah? I look forward to seeing your epic success.
@Leah1 lol Moms are always the best at some things.
@oaklandpat 73 is a nice dough temp, though. I just fixed my denture/denature typo haha