Spelt bread

Method

• step 1

  Mix all the poolish ingredients in your mixing bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave for 3-5 hours in a warm place, or overnight in the fridge until the mixture is risen and bubbles appear.

• step 2

  To make the bread, combine the poolish with the spelt flour, yeast, salt, water and spelt grains (if using) and mix together with the help of a scraper.
  Use the scraper to help you turn out the dough onto your work surface (don’t flour it first). Work the dough.

• step 3

  Once you have worked your dough you can flour your work surface lightly, place the dough on top, form into a ball and rest for an hour.

• step 4

  When your dough has risen, lightly dust your work surface with flour, turn out the dough and divide it in half, using the sharp edge of a scraper. Cover with tea towels and leave to rest on the work surface for 15 minutes.
  Heat the oven to 250c/fan 230/gas 10 (or as high as your oven will go) an hour before you need it. Unless you’re baking in tins (you’ll need 2 lightly oiled 800g tins), put in 2 baking stones or trays.

• step 5

  To form loaves, lightly dust your work surface, put the dough smoothest-side down and flatten it into a rough oval shape. Fold one side of the flattened dough into the middle and press down firmly enough to leave finger indents. Now fold in the other side followed by the bottom and top, pressing down firmly each time.
  Fold in half and press down firmly to seal the edges. Put into tins seam-side down. Or form into balls and put into (lightly floured) proving baskets or cloth-lined bowls.
  Cover with tea towels and leave to prove for 1 hour, or until just under double in volume. If using baskets, turn the loaves over onto a baking sheet ready for baking.

• step 6

  Open the oven door and quickly mist the inside of the oven with your water spray (about 15 squirts). Put in your tins, or slide the loaves onto your hot baking stones or trays in the oven, and spray again (about 5 squirts) before quickly closing the oven door.
  Set your timer for 2 minutes. After this time, turn down the heat to 220c/fan 200c/gas 7 and bake for a further 25-30 minutes until the bases of the loaves sound hollow when tapped. Cool on wire racks.