Spelt flour?

  •   #1  
    TwynnB's AvatarTwynnB , 11-07-2008 07:33 AM
    I was at our local farmer's market on Thursday, and saw some "spelt flour" biscuits (well, I called them that, they're like english muffins, she also had mini-loaves and muffins) and I broke down and bought some. Supposedly, the spelt flour has 4x the fiber some other flours do.

    OH MY GOSH...DELICIOUS!!!!

    A little nutty, absolutely FABULOUS. However, I'm not going to spend $3/wk for 4 biscuits (I made breakfast sandwiches out of them). I'd like to make some of my own, but has anyone else had experience with this? I just found a yeast free recipe on allrecipes.com (even better! No raising!!), and am thinking of trying that.

    Any experiences? Other recipes or suggestions?
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  •   #2  
    amasam's Avataramasam , 11-07-2008 07:52 AM

    I have not used spelt flour - but I often substitute all or part of the flour in a recipe for whole wheat. I often start with 1/3 - 1/2 switch and increase the whole wheat flour from there until it still tastes "right", but is more healthful.

    Last week a coworker brought banana bread to a morning meeting and he used spelt flour instead of regular - it was delicious and no one could tell the difference until he told us.

    I would love to know if you find the switch successful and how much of the flour you substitute!
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  •   #3  
    zeffryn's Avatarzeffryn , 11-07-2008 08:42 AM
    I love spelt flour! I think it is more flavorful than regular wheat flour.

    It also has more protein than regular wheat flour. The proteins are supposedly easier to digest than wheat proteins which would make it a good substitute for people who are allergic to wheat. It is *not* gluten free, however.

    I've replaced it 1:1 with regular wheat flour and had great results. I thought at first that the white spelt flour and the brown-er stuff was the same as wheat flour, but the white flour just means that it has been milled more finely than the brown stuff. They both taste about the same.
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  •   #4  
    Marianna's AvatarMarianna , 11-08-2008 12:32 AM
    We eat mostly spelt and kamut grains here as they don't seem to give us the same blood sugar response as wheat and my daughter's skin problems don't flare up as badly.

    We just substitute wholemeal spelt instead of regular flour. I tend to find though that I don't need to work it as much or it can get a tad chewy. I also find that liquid amounts can also be a bit less when baking, but that might be a humidity thing here in the sub tropics
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  •   #5  
    mazza's Avatarmazza , 11-08-2008 01:01 AM
    I love spelt bread and pasta - and find it sits quite nicely in my stomach - compared to white pasta/bread...

    Spelt bread :
    - sandwiches with tofu ... and anything else you'd use bread for hehe.

    Pasta:
    - basically anything you'd do with regular pasta; I like to add a bit of RF parmesan cheese, or a combination of parsley and garlic relish (homemade, consisting of just those two things).
    ...the possibilities are endless
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