No-Knead 100% Spelt Bread

 If you follow me on twitter (and you should), you'd know that the other day I had homemade peanut butter on homemade bread for breakfast that morning.  There was such a sense of satisfaction, such an amazing thing to wake up to.  It's like waking up to an accomplishment.  I've discovered two ways of cheering myself up in the morning -- 1. Dress up and look nice.  If you see me on the street looking particularly nice, you'd know that I woke up unhappy.  I look fantastic when I have exams. Look good, feel good, guys.  And 2. I either cook something or eat something that I've made.  It makes me feel like a strong accomplished woman.  Yes, through little things like homemade peanut butter and homemade bread.

Even better, this is really healthy and really easy to make. No-knead, that's right.  And wholegrain spelt flour.  I like spelt flour.  And I let the dough ferment overnight, so it's almost got a sourdough-like taste to it.  It's also got a really nice crunchy crust, which, despite what people in this country may think, is the way bread should be.



I've cut it up and stuffed it in my freezer, so I just pop a piece in the oven whenever I need a feel-good moment. And I'm not on some weird low-carb diet anymore so I can eat all the bread I want! (Well, currently trying to shed 5 pounds, I've gained 5 pounds since Christmas. So probably not a good idea to eat that much bread)

For that extra boost of healthiness, I added chia seeds and ground flax seeds.  Don't worry if you don't have them they can be omitted. You can add some nuts and other seeds if you wish.

makes 1 loaf
Ingredients
500g whole grain spelt flour
1 tbsp fast action yeast
1 tsp salt
500ml warm water
1/2 tbsp honey
1/2 cup oats
2 tbsp chia seeds (may omit)
2 tbsp ground flax seeds  (may omit)

Method
Boil the kettle, and add 100ml of hot water into a jug along with the honey, stir to melt.  Top with 500ml of warm water, you want the temperature to still be warm, not hot.  Like you should be able to put your hands in it and feel warm, a comfortably warm temperature.  Add the yeast and leave this for about ten minutes to foam up.  My house was cold so I put it on top of a tea towel on the radiator.

Put the flour and salt in a large bowl and mix in the yeast mixture.  Add the oats and seeds, and stir until just combined.  Mix will be sloppy.  Cover with a tea towel and leave it at room temperature overnight.

The next day, take out the dough and put it in a lined loaf tin.  Let that rest for another 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 200C. Put the loaf in and bake for ten minutes, then turn the heat down and bake for another 30-40 minutes.  It's done when you tap the bottom of the bread and it sounds hollow.