{"id":185,"date":"2023-04-21T21:16:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-21T21:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mykolanevrev.com\/?p=185"},"modified":"2025-12-21T21:20:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T21:20:38","slug":"high-hydration-spelt-bread-with-stiff-starter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mykolanevrev.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/21\/high-hydration-spelt-bread-with-stiff-starter\/","title":{"rendered":"High-Hydration Spelt Bread with Stiff Starter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not long ago, I thought that a highly hydrated spelt bread could only be baked in a tin, otherwise it would spread. But things change, and fortunately, so do my opinions. With new knowledge came a new attempt: a free-standing, high-hydration spelt loaf. And it worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why? The explanation is simple. I increased the amount of salt slightly, because salt, in the right proportion, strengthens gluten. I also mixed the dough only briefly, just until the starter was fully incorporated. The structure of the dough is built later, through folding rather than kneading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ingredients<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>140 g ripe Lievito Madre stiff starter<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>435 g spelt flour T650 (white spelt flour)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>310 g water<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>14 g salt<br><em>(yes, this loaf is slightly saltier than most of my recipes)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Method<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all ingredients and mix until a smooth dough forms. Do not knead for too long, only until the starter and all ingredients are evenly incorporated and the dough is smooth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>With wet hands, transfer the dough into a container lightly greased with vegetable oil. Perform one fold, cover the container, and let the dough rest for 45 minutes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fold the dough four times at 45-minute intervals. After the final fold, let it rest for another 45 minutes. Always fold with wet hands and handle the dough gently, avoiding tearing.<br><em>Note:<\/em> If the dough shows a very high number of bubbles after the final fold, shorten the last rest to 15\u201320 minutes to prevent over-fermentation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, shape it for an oval proofing basket, and place it inside. Proof in the refrigerator for about 15 hours at 7-8 \u00b0C. The dough will rise in the fridge, but not quite to double its volume.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bake the spelt bread in the classic way: first with steam for 20 minutes at 250 \u00b0C, then finish with another 20 minutes at 210 \u00b0C without steam.<br>Allow the baked bread to cool completely on a wire rack.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Honestly, I was surprised by the result. I did not expect such a beautiful, expressive loaf, almost balloon-like in its expansion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not long ago, I thought that a highly hydrated spelt bread could only be baked in a tin, otherwise it would spread. But things change, and fortunately, so do my opinions. With new knowledge came a new attempt: a free-standing, high-hydration spelt loaf. And it&nbsp;<a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mykolanevrev.com\/index.php\/2023\/04\/21\/high-hydration-spelt-bread-with-stiff-starter\/\">&hellip;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":186,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bread"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mykolanevrev.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mykolanevrev.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mykolanevrev.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mykolanevrev.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mykolanevrev.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mykolanevrev.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":187,"href":"https:\/\/www.mykolanevrev.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185\/revisions\/187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mykolanevrev.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mykolanevrev.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mykolanevrev.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mykolanevrev.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}