Spelt Emmer Sourdough Wholemeal Bread using a Scalding Method

baked with seam side down	baked with seam side up

Scalding, a very common process in grain preparation and cooking, is a technique involving cooking a portion of the flour (5%-20%) for a bread dough with relatively high hydration at a specific temperature which creates a gelatinized starch which can hold a lot more water than a normal bread dough mix. It also induces chemical reactions that create a sweeter flavor and make the bread more easily digestible. Usually 5% to 20% of flour are scalded one way or another. Higher percentages usually result in poor rise. Scald hydration is usually between 200% to 400%.
Scalding has been a part of bread baking for a long time, particularly in Northern Europe and Russia for many rye breads and for some wheat breads. There are different types of scalds (Scalds by gelatinisation degree, by saccharinification degree, by flavouring additives, by preservation and fermented scalds) and multiple ways to create a scald (cool down method - flour is measured, then boiling water is added and mixed in thoroughly; heat up method, like tangzhong where the flour is mixed with cold water, then slowly heated up to 65C/150F).
This bread uses a mixture of wholemeal spelt and emmer flour, which is not only very healthy, but also aromatic and very delicious. If you don't have emmer, then replace it with regular wheat or spelt flour.

Spelt Emmer Sourdough Wholemeal Bread

adapted from Marcel Paa

Scald / Scalded Flour	Sourdough Preferment	Final Dough
150 g Water 50 g Wholemeal spelt	20 g Sourdough starter 80 g Water at 35C/93F 100 g Wholemeal spelt	Scald Sourdough Preferment 220 g Water at 35C/93F 8 g Fine sea salt 50 g Magerquark 200 g Wholemeal spelt 150 g Wholemeal emmer

Place the flour and water in a saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. As soon as the starch gelatinises, remove the saucepan from the heat, cover with a plastic film and put in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours or until ready for use.
Mix the sourdough starter and water in a bowl. Add in wholemeal spelt and mix until combined. Cover with a plastic film and let ferment at the room-temperature for 8-12 hours.
After the proofing time, put all the ingredients for the final dough in a food processor and knead on a low speed for 3-4 minutes. Then increase the speed and knead for a total of about 10 minutes.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or tray, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to proof at room temperature for 2-3 hours. In the meantime, stretch and fold the dough at 30, 60 and 90 minutes intervals. Cover the dough again and let it ferment for the rest of the time.
After the dough has proofed, place it on a floured work surface and gently drag it over the floured work surface 1-2 times to get a smooth surface. Then place the dough, seam side down, directly into a lightly greased loaf tin. If you want a rustic look, then place it with seam side side up into the loaf tin. Dust the surface with a little wholemeal spelt flour.
Cover the dough and leave to proof at room temperature for 30-40 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 230C/450F with a baking tray for the steam at the bottom of the oven.
Place the pan with loaf in the middle of hot oven and add a cup of water to the tray at the bottom of the oven to create the steam. Close the oven door immediately. Reduce the oven temperature to 210C/410F and bake the bread for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, open the oven door briefly to let the steam escape and then bake the bread for another 15-20 minutes. Turn out the bread and bake without the mould for another 10-15 minutes until crispy. Cool the bread on a wire rack.

37 comments:

foodtravelandwine 1/8/22 00:34: Beautiful bread!....I love making breads with tangzhong since they last longer fresh....I also made spelt bread this weekend!....your bread looks fantastic!! ..Abrazotes, Marcela
Brian's Home Blog 1/8/22 01:06: WOW, that one sure looks like a winner!
Tom 1/8/22 01:23: ...yet another fabulous bread, Angie.
Christine 1/8/22 01:32: fantastic!
J.P. Alexander 1/8/22 03:07: Se ve muy rico, gracias por la receta. Tomo nota. Te mando un beso.
Anne in the kitchen 1/8/22 04:24: What a lovely bread. I must confess I have never baked with bread. This fall or winter I will have to give this a try.
Grace 1/8/22 07:35: Cada vez sorprendes más con tus conocimientos culinarios. Sanos, originales, tradicionales.
Si hay algo que me encanta hacer en la cocina es hacer pan.
Hoy, gracias a ti, he aprendido sobre harinas y sus procesos e utilidades.
Más gracias Angie!
Buena Semana!
Margaret D 1/8/22 08:45: Looks amazing Angie.
David M. Gascoigne, 1/8/22 12:55: One of the hardest things to find is good bread and this looks delicious, Angie.
Anonymous 1/8/22 13:08: Hi Angie, it's Bernadette. You are very lucky I don't live around the corner from you because I would be over every morning asking for a slice of your beautiful breads for my breakfast.
My name is Erika. 1/8/22 13:34: I need to look up emmer flour. I haven't heard of it or even ever seen for sale. Thanks for all your creative recipes Angie. I always learn so much reading them!
DEZMOND 1/8/22 13:39: I must admit all of them breath and dough baking techniques scare the gluten out of me, so I applaud you for being brave enough to get into it.
speedy70 1/8/22 13:42: Proverò anche questo metodo per panificare, grazie!!!
Christine 1/8/22 15:19: Thanks for letting me know you stopped receiving my posts for a good few days not that I can do much about it.
Ben | Havocinthekitchen 1/8/22 15:50: Wow you're just the breadmaking profi - another stunning and delicious loaf. Excellent!
Jeff the Chef 1/8/22 16:12: How interesting! Now you've really got me wanting to bake a loaf of bread!
Veronica Lee 1/8/22 16:12: Looks great, Angie.

Thanks for all your amazing recipes.
Kitchen Riffs 1/8/22 16:13: I really admire your knowledge of, and expertise in using, so many different techniques or ways of making bread. This looks like a winner! Good stuff -- thanks.
Bill 1/8/22 16:31: Looks fantastic, Angie.
Cooking Julia 1/8/22 18:30: I feel hungry when I see a slice of that wonderful bread with some blackberry jam spread on it!
Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine 1/8/22 19:28: looks really delicious and perfect loaf love the jam
Muriel 1/8/22 20:06: C'est encore un magnifique pain que tu as préparé ! Bonne fin de journée
yessykan 1/8/22 20:23: Hi there!
Wow, this one is challenging. I make my bread at home with all purpose flour. I haven’t gotten to sourdoughs yet though. Thank you for the awesome recipe!
DeniseinVA 1/8/22 21:04: Marvelous recipe, thank you Angie :) Looks incredible!
Anonymous 1/8/22 23:59: Such a hearty, gorgeous loaf, Angie - my favorite kind. Perfect with butter and the blackberry jam you just published!
Dawn @ Words Of Deliciousness 2/8/22 02:00: This bread looks so delicious. It looks like it would be perfect to use in a sandwich or just with some jelly.
The Yum List 2/8/22 07:38: I'll take two slices of that pretty please!
Nancy Chan 2/8/22 11:02: This is another one of your beautiful bread. I love the freshly baked bread crust.
thepaintedapron.com 2/8/22 14:21: Another beautiful bread Angie!
Norma2 2/8/22 15:42: Angie, a very laborious procedure but whose result is optimal
David 2/8/22 17:39: Angie, That is a beautiful loaf of bread! I'd never heard of the scalding method. Very interesting in that I like dense moist bread. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
Pam 2/8/22 19:34: GORGEOUS!
Rainbow Evening 3/8/22 01:30: good method with excellent result .....
👍👍
Anonymous 4/8/22 14:48: I’ve worked with the tangzhong method but I’ve never heard of the scalding method, thanks Angie. I have a dear friend who is gluten intolerant but she can eat sourdough bread in very small quantities, this recipe would help her a lot.
Éva http://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com/
Anonymous 15/8/22 12:20: Angie, I love your blog. I always learn so much. Scalding flours? Who knew? Well you, obviously. I wish I had time for more kitchen adventures, I want to try this now.

Choclette x
Anonymous 23/10/24 22:58: What is magerquark and can I make my own since I live in a ridiculously small rural town?
Angie's Recipes 24/10/24 12:56: Magerquark is a type of fresh cheese, in this recipe, you might be able to replace it with cottage or even thick yoghurt.
Here is a link to how to make
Quark at home.