Because of Baker Alessandro’s submit about darkish rye breads, I got here throughout a recipe for wholegrain spelt bread with sunflower seeds.  It regarded like simply the ticket for experimenting with the wholegrain spelt flour I had bought a number of weeks beforehand.

The bread incorporates a rye levain and a spelt scald, together with sunflower seeds, so there’s numerous taste components on this bread.  Since I used to be out of sunflower seeds after I made the bread, I substituted an equal quantity of toasted pepitas and might say that they play very effectively with the opposite substances.

I adopted the method outlined within the recipe and every little thing labored as predicted.  The notes counsel making three loaves, every with 496g of dough however don’t say what measurement pan to make use of.  I opted to make two loaves, utilizing 4″x8″ pans.  The ensuing loaves are a bit squat, although I pushed ultimate fermentation to some extent simply shy of overproofing.  Consequently, I might scale as much as 150% of the given portions for a subsequent bake to make loftier loaves.

This can be a moist dough at 91% hydration.  Between that and spelt’s inclination to unfold out, baking in pans is the way in which to go.  The ensuing bread is each moist and durable with a strong chew.

The crumb is extra open than the profile of the loaf would counsel.

Since I baked this simply a few days earlier than we left on a visit to Colorado, I put each loaves within the freezer till our return house.  We spent a number of days in Steamboat Springs having fun with the sights with our youthful daughter’s household.  One spot we visited was Decrease Fish Creek Falls, which was in full spate with soften water:

Paul