I came up with the recipe for this bread after baking countless loaves of sophisticated sourdoughs using the Tartine method. Every now and then, I would skip or modify a step and if I got a good result, I continued to bake with my modifications. At the end, I settled on the process described below that I’ve been using for quite some time with consistently great results.
Adding tangzhong roux to breads makes for a softer crumb while keeping the outside nice and crusty, and allows breads to stay soft and fresh tasting longer. If you ever made a rustic sourdough at home, you probably know that in a day or two it tends to get drier. Bread crumb is a matrix of proteins that lose moisture as they cool and age. When you make roux with flour and liquid, you are creating a gel where starches bind to water. And when you add that gel, or roux, to the dough (about 10% seems to be standard), it prevents dough from losing moisture, which keeps bread tasting fresh and soft longer.
I started making roux with milk because I noticed that it keeps my loaves crusty outside the next day more than if I make water. But it’s a good alternative if you have to avoid dairy. I skip roux if I know that the bread is going to be eaten quickly. I just add 100g or so of water with the salt addition. I make my dough so wet that it’s impossible to shape and I literally pour it into a very hot Dutch oven. It gets great oven spring and beautiful crumb that’s nicely open but doesn’t have large holes.
HOW TO MAKE SPELT KAMUT SOURDOUGH
INGREDIENTS
110 g leaven (50g all-purpose spelt flour+50g water+1 or 2 tablespoons of active sourdough starter)
400 g water
350 g all-purpose spelt flour
200 g freshly ground kamut berries (or einkorn, farro, emmer, spelt – whatever you fancy!)
8 g salt
180 g Tangzhong roux (30 g spelt flour + 150g cold water or milk)
INSTRUCTIONS
Make leaven (8-12 hours) I normally make it the night before:
50 g all-purpose spelt flour
50 g filtered water
1-2 tablespoons recently fed active sourdough starter
Mix the ingredients together, cover with an air tight lid or plastic, and keep at room temperature for 6-12 hours, or until leaven becomes very bubbly.
Mix dough:
Grind kamut (einkorn, spelt, farro) berries. I normally try to mix kamut berries with another, softer grain, because kamut berries are rock hard and heat up my grinder.
Whisk water with leaven until leaven is dissolved and the liquid resembles bubbly milk.
Add sifted spelt flour and freshly ground kamut/einkorn/spelt/farro/emmer.
Mix with a spoon until no dry spots remain. Leave to rest for 1 hour (this is autolyse stage).
Make tangzhong roux:
Whisk 30g spelt flour with 120g of cold water or milk until flour is dissolved.
Turn heat on low, whisk continuously until it thickens to custard consistency. 3-5 minutes. This is roux. Cool.
Ferment
Add salt and roux to the dough. Fold well to incorporate.
Fold dough four times on top of itself every 30 minutes for 2-3 hours, until significant increase in size.
Let rest for 5-8 hours, until the dough doubles in size. It will become very airy and soupy.
Bake
Put a large Dutch oven with a lid in the oven. Turn the oven on to 475ºF (250ºC), and set timer for 20 minutes.
At the end of that time, pour the dough into the Dutch oven with help of a soft spatula; cover and bake for 20 minutes.
Uncover, and bake 15-20 more minutes, or until desired color is reached.
- 110 g leaven (50g all-purpose spelt flour+50g water+1or 2 tablespoons active sourdough starter)
- 400 g water
- 350 g all-purpose spelt flour
- 200 g freshly ground kamut berries (or a combination of kamut/spelt, kamut/farro)
- 8 g salt
- 180 g Tangzhong roux (30 g spelt flour + 150g cold water or milk)
- [u][b]Make leaven: (8-12 hours):[/b][/u]
- Mix 50g all-purpose spelt flour, 50g water and 1-2 tablespoons of active sourdough starter, cover with an air tight lid or plastic, and keep at room temperature for 6-12 hours, or until leaven becomes very bubbly.
- [u][b]Mix dough: [/b][/u]
- Grind the grains.
- Whisk water with leaven until leaven is dissolved and the liquid resembles bubbly milk.
- Add sifted spelt flour and freshly ground kamut/einkorn/spelt/farro/emmer.
- Mix with a spoon until no dry spots remain. Leave to rest for 1 hour (this is autolyse stage).
- [u][b]Make tangzhong roux:[/b][/u]
- Whisk 30g spelt flour with 120g of cold water or milk until flour is dissolved.
- Turn heat on low, whisk continuously until it thickens to custard consistency. 3-5 minutes. This is roux. Cool.
- [u][b]Ferment:[/b][/u]
- Add salt and roux to the dough. Fold well to incorporate.
- Fold dough four times on top of itself every 30 minutes for 2-3 hours, until significant increase in size.
- Let rest for 5-8 hours, until the dough doubles in size. It will become very airy and soupy.
- [u][b]Bake:[/b][/u]
- Put a large Dutch oven with a lid in the oven. Turn the oven on to 475ºF (250ºC), and set timer for 20 minutes.
- At the end of that time, pour the dough into the Dutch oven with help of a soft spatula; cover and bake for 20 minutes.
- Uncover, and bake 15-20 more minutes, or until desired color is reached.
14 comments
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I just made this used whole spelt flour instead of kamut, couldn’t find kamut. This bread is awesome! I was wondering how it can get oven spring being so liquid when i put it into DO but it rose ALOT. Nice crumb and very soft. Thanks so much, will keep making it
I’m wondering what size (width) of dutch oven you use for this? I’ve tried making a no-knead sourdough twice in my All-Clad pot (11″ diameter) and it spread and didn’t rise well (could also have been user error as I’m very new to sourdough :)). I’m considering buying a dutch oven but might try my 8″ diameter All-Clad pot first.
Hi Emily, for this one, and most of my breads I use an oval Denby Dutch oven, it’s 9 x 6.5″ at the bottom and flares out on the sides so even larger at the top. I’m not familiar with All-Clad. 8″ is a good size for this particular loaf but even 11 would work since it gets a very good oven rise. 🙂
Hi Valeria
I tried making this bread few days ago with a homemade sprouted rye flour starter. The bread had a sour after taste. Have you tried this bread with rye starter or the san fzracisco starter? Also have you ever made a starter with einkorn?
I am a total rookie at this, any thoughts you may have will be super helpful. I have tried so many recipes from your blog and they are absolutely fantastic.
Thanks!
Hi Neha – thank you, you are so sweet!! I’d definitely reduce the amount of fermenting time, if your bread is too sour 🙂 I’ve used both San Francisco starter and in the past several months – mostly rye starter, but I haven’t tried sprouted rye starter. I would imagine it’s very strong? 🙂 I often add sprouted rye flour whenever I want fermentation activity to move faster (like kvass and brined apples, etc) because lactic bacteria love it. I think I should always mention in my recipes to watch the dough more than to watch the time, because temperature and starter activity affect the fermenting time so much. I don’t use einkorn for my starters – too pricey and it sours waaayy fast, espectially whole ground einkorn, to the point I don’t care for the taste. Rye is the most convenient and economical for me.
Thanks Valeria!
That makes total sense 🙂 I ordered San fransciso starter and can’t wait to try with it. I think you have a great point about the sprouted the starter. Haha what was I thinking!
Hi there ! I have been making a spelt/kamut sourdough now for a few months. It seems similar to yours above in many ways. I do not sift the spelt though.
I have never heard of the roux though ! It sounds interesting. I am wondering . . .if I must be dairy free . . .is it acceptable to use a non-dairy milk like flax or almond milk ? Do you think that would work ?
I believe you can use any liquid for the roux, I use plain water a lot. I haven’t tried vegan milks but I be they would work 🙂
Let me also add, I always do a strech and fold on my spelt/kamut bread.
I am guessing by your pictures that yours is a little more wet and you don’t actually pick it up out of the bowl ? You just fold it over in the bowl ? Is that right ?
Thank you so much for your post.
Sooooo intriguing . . .
You are exactly right, Genet! I stretch and fold the dough over the bowl without picking it up – it’s too liquid for that. But I like to keep it at such high hydration – the breads come out moist, chewy and have nice open crumb 🙂
First thing is I love this recipe! Now to my question…I have a larger french/dutch oven than in the recipe so my loaf is naturally flatter despite rising well. The oven was the smallest I could find and cost a lot (but worth every penny) so I don’t want to have to find/buy a smaller one. I was thinking about doubling the recipe but I wasn’t sure how that might affect time or ingredient ratios. Has anyone tried to create a bigger loaf with this recipe? If so how did you go? Do you have any suggestions on how to accomodate the cooking time and ingredient quantities?
Hi Lauren, thank you 🙂 I haven’t tried doubling the recipe but if I did – I would keep everything but the baking time the same. Do you have a food thermometer? They are very cheap and so helpful! I’d use a thermometer in the middle of the loaf a couple of times, until it reaches 190ºF. I agree – good Dutch ovens are so pricey!
Would it be possible to bake this in a loaf pan?