homemade spelt bread

In our quest to leave as little behind as possible, we have started making our own bread on a weekly basis. It really isn't that time consuming nore tricky. I must admit that we have an old bread machine at our disposal, but I have made countless batches sans machine.

When you think about how many loaves your family eats in a year and then think about all of those plastic bags and plastic ties, then you'll understand how much waste goes into such a simple staple. Plus, it is significantly cheaper to make your own bread. Two loaves of Organic Spelt bread costs us less then $5.00 and it is fresh and ready within 2 1/2 hours.

This is what you'll need:

4 tsp yeast or 2 envelopes

2 C warm water

1/4 C honey, agave or desired sweetener

3 tbsp melted butter (we used vegan Earth Balance, which is absolutely yummy)

1 tsp butter for coating your pans and rising bowls

1-2 tsp salt

6-7 C Spelt flour

Combine the yeast, water, sweetener and melted butter in a bowl or your bread machine pan. Let foam for 10 minutes. Add the flour and salt and knead for 10 minutes or set your bread machine on the dough setting and hit start. If making this by hand, you'll let it rise for 30 minutes in the bowl and then knead until smooth and form into 2 loaves and place in greased bread pans and let rise for another 30 minutes (or until doubled in size). If using the bread machine, your time will vary, but after it is done in the machine, remove and smooth out into 2 loaves and place in greased bread pans and let rise for another 30 minutes (or until doubled in size) Preheat your oven at 400 degrees. Once the loaves are ready and the oven is at 400 degrees, bake for 35-45 minutes. They are done when you can tap them with a butter knife and they sound hollow.

We usually freeze one loaf and keep the other in the fridge. This recipe slices well and holds up great. Enjoy with some Earth Balance spread, sunflower butter or some hummus and sprouts. We are sure that you'll find your own favorite combo.