Lemon Spelt Bread

We think the layout of our blog looks pretty neat, although it can be a bit hard to get a quick idea of how many recipes we have and where to find old ones. So to make it a little bit easier for you (and ourselves) we have put together a recipe index, which you can find in the top right corner. And while we were putting the index together we noticed that we only had a few bread recipes, which is kind of strange since we love bread!

Most of the time you will find dark danish rye bread in our home, but sometimes we bake breads like this. Light on the inside, hard on the outside and with the most wonderful scent and taste of lemon. We use spelt flakes and spelt flour which contains more proteins and less calories than ordinary wheat flour. Spelt also has a little nuttier taste. But the greatest thing with this recipe is that we dissolve the yeast in cold water instead of lukewarm water. And this is great because every time a recipe calls for lukewarm water the two of us disagree on the temperature: “It’s too hot!” “no no no, it’s too cold!”.

Imagine how it sounds like when we try to give Elsa a bath …

Oh, we almost forgot. If you like our recipes and don’t feel like missing out on anything you can now leave your email-address here and we will send you a new mail whenever we post a new recipe. We won’t spam you. Promise.

Lemon Spelt Bread (Adapted from a recipe by danish chef Oscar Umahro)
Makes 2 big breads

1 cup (2,5 dl) spelt flakes
2 medium size organic lemons (juice and zest)
3 cups (7,5 dl) ice cold water
1 tbsp sea salt
1 oz (30 g) fresh yeast
2-3 tbsp olive oil
7 cups (1 kg) spelt flour (whole or light or both)

Mix the spelt flakes with lemon zest and juice and let it set for 30 minutes.
Whisk together water, salt, yeast and olive oil in a large bowl. Add half of the spelt flour and stir it together to a lose mixture. Add the lemon marinated spelt flakes and the rest of the flour (a little at the time). Knead it for about five minutes (not too long since spelt has a fragile gluten), it should feel light, elastic and a little bit moist. Split it in half and form two loaves that you put on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with a towel and let it rise until twice the size (about 2 hours). Preheat the oven to 425°F/200°C about 20 minutes before the loaves are done rising, put a broiler pan in the bottom rack. Wait 20 minutes, then put the loaves in the oven and pour 1 cup of tap water into the broiler pan, quickly shut the oven door to keep the steam inside. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

30 Comments

  • ABOUT THE YEAST: For those who can't get it, 4-4.5 tsp dry active yeast should do the trick. 2 plus a little more tsp if you are only making one loaf. ABOUT THE BREAD: It is so beautiful and lovely. I sprinkled poppy seeds and flour on the top (oh by the way, I found that it's best not to use all the flour it calls for. And go heavy on the lemon! But of course, I was cutting the recipe in half so ...) I couldn't find spelt flakes anywhere! I wanted to use quinoa flakes, but was timid because they tend to soak up a lot more water, and this being my first time trying the recipe out I was decided to play it safe. Maybe I'll do it next time instead of regular oats and let you know how it goes. Pairs well with kalamata olives--like super well.
  • Dagny
    Hi, I was just wondering if I could use dried yeast instead of fresh yeast? If so, how much? Thank you for your time. Your blog is beautiful by the way:)
  • Inez
    My hubby and I made this today and it was lovely. Thank you for a great recipe. We especially loved the texture - so light with a crunchy crust - and was wondering if the lemon juice had anything to do with that? I am hoping to make it again without the lemon but with some herbs instead so was hoping that the omission of the lemon won't alter the texture... Love the blog too - we've just found it as we embark on a sugar-free 8 week experiment!
  • carmen
    i recently discovered your blog and it was the perfect time! my parents are much older and life has become quite hectic making sure they are ok, eat well, etc. your blog reconnected me to all the years i was vegetarian (i eat fish now) and recommitted me to whole food cooking and eating. thank you for sharing your beautiful, clean lifestyle and wonderful recipes with us (i am in california!) i feel so very blessed to have found your blog, and i have been cooking some very healthy dishes for my little old folks, too. i wish your family much continued health, happiness and peace. :)
  • molla
    Are the spelt flakes necessary for this recipe? Can I substitute with perhaps spelt flour instead?
    • Hi Molla, I guess you can bake the bread without flakes, but if you have old fashioned rolled oats that will work great too. Happy baking Luise
  • Nishma
    We dont get fresh yeast here - can we replace with dried yeast and what quantity?
  • Dee
    This looks great, but do you put all the zest in or just as much as desired? Thank you!
  • Making this right now, but with einkorn flour. Awesome substitute, it works exactly the same as spelt. I did rosemary and poppy seed instead of lemon. it's rising on my counter as i type. SO EXCITED.
  • helen
    silly question coming...! Spelt flakes? - i am guessing simular to oat(porriage) flakes? bread looks great - am going to try!!
    • Yes, it is similar. If you have problems finding spelt flakes you could actually replace them with oat. Happy baking! David
      • Inés
        Hi =) I tried out your recipe this morning using freshly rolled oats instead of spelt flakes and the result is fantastic! I used orange zest instead of lemon, as the lemon juice I had was from my last lemon that I juiced yesterday and so no peel was left... ;-) Didn't do any harm though. It was just pouring down as I tasted the first roll (oh, I forgot to mention that I made rolls instead of loaves) and it somehow smelled of sun because of the lemon! Thanks =)
  • Hi! I love your site! Is there a way I can replace the spelt with rye? thanks!
  • Judith
    Hej! I made the lemon spelt bread yesterday and it turned out pretty well.The texture is great and I like its form. I ground some leftover spelt and mixed it with store-bought spelt flour. Next time I'll add more lemon juice and zest to the dough, because I hardly taste any lemon now. But thank you for this wonderful recipe :-)
  • Yay, a very good idea, this recepie index. I have started doing this myself, it really helps the reader looking for something specific (such as I am surfing your blog right now for the perfect summer dessert, for example).
  • That looks lovely. I am imagining having a warm slice topped with homemade fig jam. And I love your layout. Bright and uncluttered. Perfect.
  • You have a delicious looking website. And this bread looks divine.
  • Lemon in a bread sounds like an excellent idea! I've never tried anything like that before. Interesting!
  • yum! Looks like the perfect mid day snack with a little schmear of greek yogurt on top! great recipe you guys!
  • What draws me to your site is the clean layout and fantastic photos. Adding the recipe index is indeed very helpful so I can easily go back to your previous recipes.
  • This sounds so wonderful! I bake with spelt all the time and love the addition of the lemon here...so interesting!
  • I want this bread now! I love love love Spelt, and like Karen, I'm imagining this on my plate with some delicious fig (or rhubarb) jam! Your photos are absolutely incredible.
  • This is a good looking bread, with the lemon as well, as Emily says a poached egg and this would be great.
  • I am annoyed that I don't have any spelt flour in the cupboard right now, because I want to make this immediately. I keep thinking, ooooh, lovely with cheese! Oh, and smoked fish pate! or sandwiches!! Mmmm, toasted with a poched egg.... Basically, it looks divine. I've bookmarked for near future use.
  • That looks lovely. I am imagining having a warm slice topped with homemade fig jam. And I love your layout. Bright and uncluttered. Perfect.
  • It sounds like it tastes wonderful. I bet it would taste great toasted too, maybe even turned into croutons to top a spring salad.
  • This looks so nourishing and wholesome. I love the addition of lemon, it gives it that little special touch : )
  • Lovely pictures~bread looks awesome! Had to stop myself from reaching out and grabbing a slice! BTW, I also think your blog looks clean, neat and uncluttered. It's focus on what visitors come for: good food. Thanks for sharing.
  • This looks amazing. I love spelt bread - but never had it other than the "ordinary" kind - the addition of lemon quite interests me! I am a terrible bread baker, though - so I love that it uses water rather than lukewarm, like you said. I never know if it's too hot or too cold!

Leave a comment