Monday's Bread

I was out walking last Monday with the Sisters of Mercy, which is what we call ourselves for reasons lost in the mists of time, when being who I am, I bragged about the bread that I had made earlier in the day. Actually, I was decidedly pleased with myself. I keep playing with this and that when I make bread, even though my poor husband would prefer it if I stuck to something that was closer to white, plain, and unadulterated. Ah, well. Occasionally, I do just that.

This particular batch was a mix of spelt and kamut. I often pronounce the latter with the EMphasis on the wrong sylLABLE. Old dogs, new tricks. KAmut. KaMUT. It is a problem.

When it comes to baking for those with wheat allergies and gluten intolerance, I am also learning that there is a difference, and that one needs to check. Kamut or KaMUT only works for some people and not for others. Same with spelt, which conveniently only has one syllable. Still, Since one of The Sisters wanted the recipe for a family member with some level of challenge with wheat, I decided the easiest way was to share it here.

Fresh out of the oven - before I went on my walk.

This recipe is only an approximation.  Since I have been making bread for more than forty years, I am actually rubbish when it comes to being really reliable about exact measurements. Besides, when it comes to bread, going by how it looks counts for more than exactitude. Humidity for one thing can throw exact measurements into a cocked hat. When it comes to non-wheat breads, I find chia seeds really help with the texture. The rest is all to be played with.

Sharon’s KAmut. KaMUT & Spelt Bread

Ingredients	What I did
1 ½ c warm water	Put into my Bosch mixer
1 T yeast	Sprinkle on top of warm water
Kamut flour	Add enough to make it look like thick mud, beat it for about ten minutes with a dough hook, then let it rest for half an hour or however long you like - up to a couple of hours.
¼ c Chia seeds ½ c hot water	Soak the chia seeds in hot water while the above mud is resting. Then add the gelatinous result to the mud, and beat it for a few minutes.
1 T salt 1T sugar 1 T oil Hemp hearts Pumpkin seeds 1 egg	Add these ingredients to the mud. As for measuring seeds and hemp hearts, I just toss in what I feel like, a handful maybe.
Spelt flour	Add to all of the above, ½ c at a time, until the dough pulls away from the side of the mixer, but is not at all firm. Leave it covered for at least an hour, up to 2 hours., Then turn it on to a floured surface, and knead it - only until it isn’t too sticky, but isn’t dry. Plop it into a greased cast iron pot that has a lid. Cover and leave for half an hour, or longer it needed for it to double in size. Preheat oven to 425 F convection, pop the bread in the covered pot into the overn, and bake for 20 minutes. Then remove the lid, and bake for another 20 minutes.  Then turn out onto a cooling rack. Set yourself a challenge. Try not to cut into it until it has cooled a bit

After the walk, sliced so you can see the texture.

After getting my heart rate up by walking with The Sisters on our usual circuit, I returned home for lunch and dug into the aforementioned bread. I slathered it with a thin skim of peanut butter, and a generous dollop of my Port Wine Cranberry-Apricot Sauce, so you may as well have that recipe too:

Port Wine Cranberry-Apricot Sauce – great on bread, in plain yoghurt, or with turkey.

Ingredients	What I did
8 whole green cardamom pods	Crush them in a mortar & pestle, & discard skins
3 cups Port Wine	Add to cardamom, and bring to boil in a heavy bottomed non-reactive pot.
1 cup sugar
1 cup apricot preserves
1 cup fresh lemon juice
½ cup honey
2 6-ounce package dried apricots, quartered	Add to above & cook for about 2 minutes.
3 - 12-ounce bag cranberries	Add to above and cook until the berries make a delightful popping sound, and most of them look popped.
1 grated lemon peel from one lemon	Turn off the heat, and add to above.Put into glass jars, and preserve, or eat it all. Whatever.

What else to say? Enjoy.