I don't know about spelt being "healthier", because there are health benefits to consuming whole grains in general, and all whole grains have their redeeming qualities over refined flour. I only use freshly-milled spelt because that's the only way to get all the nutrients available in the grain - Fresh Is Best.... I use a large variety of freshly-milled grains/seeds/beans in baked goods. This link will give you a nutritional comparison: http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=dailytip&dbid=148&utm_source=rss_reader&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_feed Spelt is a little lower on the glycemic index of foods than wheat, probably because it hasn't been hybridized like wheat has and it has a higher protein level than wheat. Spelt is the ancient form of our modern red wheat varieties, while kamut is the ancient form of durum wheat (used for pasta/noodles). Spelt has a great nutritional profile and is often easier to digest for some people who find wheat difficult to digest. I like to feed my sourdough starter spelt flour because it is higher in carbohydrates than wheat flour. I use spelt (freshly-milled at home) mostly in baked goods like quick breads and cookies where I don't need a lot of gluten development. In fact, there are 100% spelt sugar cookies in the cookie jar this weekend. In bread recipes, I use spelt like I would other low-gluten flours (rye, barley, kamut, etc.), substituting it for 20-30 percent of the flour PLUS 1-2 T. vital wheat gluten, but there are plenty of recipes for 100% spelt bread. Vital wheat gluten is unnecessary in 100% whole wheat bread because I mill grain that is 13.1% protein, which is more than enough gluten to get a high rise. Adding too much vital wheat gluten will make bread tough. There are benefits using a sponge method when making 100% whole wheat breads, over using the more modern quick method (straight- or direct-dough method). When making whole wheat bread in the Zo, I use a sponge of at least 2-1/2 hours, but generally an overnight sponge. The loaves are as high-rising and nearly as light in texture as any white bread. However, I never bake breads in the Zo. The gluten level of spelt, and the type of gluten protein in spelt, is much different from wheat. Gluten in spelt is around 5,000 parts per million compared to wheat which begins at 50,000 parts per million and go up from there. Gluten in wheat is like a sponge in your dough soaking up hydration, so when using spelt in a recipe designed for wheat flour, you will either use less liquid or more flour to get the correct hydration using spelt. The gluten in spelt also takes less time to develop, so not as much kneading is required. If you like using spelt, I'd suggest the book "The Spelt Cookbook" by Helga Hughes. She uses wholegrain spelt flour and "white" spelt flour (with the bran and germ removed) in the book. For people who have difficulty digesting wheat (this doesn't include people who are gluten intolerant), you may find you can use sprouted spelt flour (link below), or other sprouted flours. Recipe for a bread machine... SPELT BREAD (source: Bread Machines For Dummies - by Glenna Vance and Tom Lacalamita) 1-1/2# loaf with changes for 2# in (----) 3/4 c. (1 c. + 1 T.) water 2 T. (3 T.) vegetable oil 2 T. (3 T.) sugar 1 t. (1-1/2 t.) salt 3 c. (4 c.) spelt flour 2-1/4 t. (1 T.) Active Dry Yeast 1. Have all the ingredients at room temperature. 2. Place the ingredients in the pan in the order listed. 3. Select a Basic, White, or Normal cycle and a medium crust color. Press Start. Variation: You can make a cinnamon raisin bread with this recipe by adding 2 t. of cinnamon and 3/4 c. raisins to the 1-1/2-pound loaf. If you are making the 2-pound loaf, use the same amount of cinnamon but increase the raisins to 1 c. Be sure the raisins are a bit dry or they will disintegrate in the bread. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Summers Sprouted Flours

Chocolate Walnut Fudge Serves: 25    1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk    1/3 cup agave nectar    1 pinch salt    12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips    1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (4 ounces)  Mix sweetened condensed milk and agave in a small saucepan and stir to blend. Add a large pinch of salt. Bring mixture just to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add chocolate chips and lower heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring constantly, until chocolate melts completely and mixture is smooth. Stir in walnuts. Pour the warm mixture into an 8 x 8-inch pan and smooth the top with a butter knife. Let cool and refrigerate until cold. Cut into 25 squares. ____________________________________________________________________ Banana Loaf Made With Spelt Flour Recipe Ingredients  1/2 cup butter at room temperature  1 cup or less light/golden brown sugar  2 organic eggs, beaten  1 tsp. vanilla (optional)  2 cups Spelt flour  1 tsp. baking soda preferably aluminum-free  1/2 tsp. salt  2 or 3 very ripe organic bananas, mashed  1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) Directions Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat butter and sugar together until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Stir in dry ingredients. Blend bananas and walnuts and mix gently. Bake in a well greased and lightly dusted 5 x 9 inch loaf pan or three 3 x 5 inch loaf pans. Bake for one hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Lessen the baking time for the smaller loaf pans. NOTE: When using spelt flour as a substitute for All-purpose or whole wheat flour, always remember that spelt requires approximately 25% less liquid. You can either reduce the liquid by 25% or add 25% more spelt flour than your recipe calls for.

When you have a digestive challenge you'll find soaking or sprouting grain before consumption will aid in easier digestion. Soaking/sprouting allows enzymes, lactobacilli and other helpful organisms to break down and neutralize phytic acid. The simple practice of soaking cracked or rolled cereal grains overnight with some whey, kefir, buttermilk or yogurt added to the soaking water will not only make the grains easier to digest, but it will improve their nutritional benefits. The soak neutralizes enzyme inhibitors. During the soaking and fermenting, gluten and other difficult-to-digest proteins are partially broken down into simpler components that are more available for absorption. Oats/oatmeal may be low in the hard-to-digest gluten protein, but oats contain more phytates than almost any other grain. So if you have digestive problems, pre-soaking all grains, especially oats, would be very important. Freshly-milled whole grain flour can be made into a gruel and the gruel used as a base for a smoothie, instead of a fruit/dairy-based smoothie. You can add all kinds of things to your gruel-based smoothie. If you don't have a grain mill for this process, you can use a coffee/spice mill for milling small amounts of grain into flour (barley, brown rice, wheat, kamut, spelt, rye, etc.) and mill it as needed because FRESH IS BEST. To make 2-cups of Gruel: (source: Nourishing Traditions - by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.) 1/2 c. freshly ground organic flour from spelt, kamut, rye, barley, wheat, rice or oats 2 c. water plus 2 T. whey, yogurt, kefir or buttermilk 1/4 t. salt Mix flour with water mixture, cover and leave at room temperature for 12-24 hours. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add salt, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 10-minutes. Let cool slightly and serve with cream or butter and a small amount of a natural sweetener, such as raw honey. ------------------------------------------------------- Add ground flax seeds (flaxmeal) for more nutrition and fiber. Flax seeds are relatively low in phytic acid and when taken in small amounts do not require soaking. Mill them in a coffee/spice mill so you have the freshest source possible, plus they are less expensive. I'd also suggest adding chia seeds or chia seed gel (chia seeds mixed with water) to this gruel smoothie for additional fiber and nutrition and the great health benefits from this simple little seed. Chia seeds are easy to add to water or other beverages. A common drink used with them is called "fresca" - 1 glass of lemonade and 1 t. chia seeds - allow to sit for 10-minutes before drinking. I realize lemonade would be too acidic, but that's an example of how to add chia seeds to your diet - in any kind of beverage - just allow to sit for 10-minutes. Another add-in that would raise fiber AND aid in digestion is High Maize Resistant Starch. We add all three of these to our morning smoothie. Add water, juice, dairy, if necessary, to make the smoothie texture. --------------------------------------------------------- Have every tried crumbling baked goods in a bowl and pouring milk over it. Lots of people crumble cornbread and top if off with buttermilk and I thought it might work for wholegrain muffins or cake. This recipe is a nice wholegrain snack cake that might work crumbled. Just omit the topping and the nuts in the recipe. BANANA CRUNCH CAKE (Source: The Quaker Oats Wholegrain Cookbook) Crunch Topping: 3/4 c. Quaker Oats (Quick or Old-Fashioned, uncooked) 2 T. butter or margarine, melted 2 T. chopped nuts 1/2 t. cinnamon Cake: 1/2 c. butter or margarine 2/3 c. firmly packed brown sugar 1 c. mashed banana 2 eggs 1 t. vanilla 1 c. ground oat flour* 3/4 c. all-purpose flour (use whole wheat or spelt flour) 1 t. salt 1 t. soda 1/2 c. chopped nuts, if desired For crunch topping, combine all ingredients; mix well. For cake, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy; blend in banana, eggs and vanilla. Gradually add combined dry ingredients, mixing well after each addition. Stir in nuts. Pour into greased 8-inch square baking pan; sprinkle with crunch topping evenly over batter. Bake in preheated moderate oven (350-degrees F) 40 to 45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. *How to make your own ground oat flour: 1. Place 1 to 1-1/2 c. oats in blender or food processor. 2. Blend or process for about 60 seconds Yield: about 1 cup ground oat flour 3. Store in tightly covered container in cool dry place up to six months. ------------------------------------------------------- -Grainlady

Thanks, Grainlady. Actually, I went ahead and experimented by sort of combining the above recipe and a recipe I found on line for spelt bread. I used a combination of King Arthur whole wheat flour and the white spelt flour, about half and half, partly because I had already made the biga with the whole wheat flour. Then, I used the following recipe, adjusting the spelt flour amounts and water amounts to try and have the correct total for each ingredient. I used the technique for making ciabatta, where I let it sit, turned the dough, let it sit, turned the dough, until I was ready to bake the bread. It ended up making 2 loaves, which I baked in loaf pans, instead of ciabatta style. Surprisingly, it turned out surprisingly well, considering at the last, I tried to make one loaf out of it, and when I saw the dough spilling out of the pan I realized I had to deflate it yet once again and put it into two loaf pans. Here's the other recipe I used. I used dark honey instead of brown sugar. It's from Versagrain.com. Spelt Flour Recipes Sweet and Hearty Spelt Bread Recipe To cook this Spelt bread recipe you will need a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and patience. Unlike white bread this recipe for Spelt bread will take twice as long to leaven. From start to finish, it will take 2 - 3 hours. Ingredients (Makes 1 Loaf) 1 1/2 cups warm water (just barely hot to the touch) 1 package active dry yeast (1/4 ounce) 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon whole flaxseed (optional) 2 1/2 cups whole spelt flour 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar 1/2 tablespoon salt 1 3/4 cups whole spelt flour 1 tablespoon butter, melted Directions In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon of flaxseed (optional). Mix in 2 1/2 cups of spelt flour. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly. Mix in 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter, 2 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and salt. Stir in 1 3/4 cups of spelt flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with spelt flour until it pulls away from the counter but is still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 1 to 2 cups of spelt flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 30 minutes). Punch down and place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Allow to rise until dough has topped the pan by one inch. Depending on your yeast this will take between 1 - 2 hours. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not over bake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 1 tablespoon of melted butter when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely. TIP: Place a loaf pan of the same size over the top of the loaf while baking to create a better crust. Substitutions and Additions Honey can be substituted for the brown sugar in this whole spelt bread recipe. Substitute white spelt flour, hard white wheat flour, or bread flour for the 2 1/2 cups of whole spelt flour to create an even lighter and fluffier loaf of whole grain bread. To give this recipe a crunch, consider adding walnuts. In this whole grain bread recipe we included the option for flaxseed because here at versagrain.com we are big proponents of incorporating flaxseed into your diet. Its high protein, fiber, and omega 3 fatty acids makes flaxseed a nutritional powerhouse your body can use to fight depression, cancer, and heart disease.