…with more bread. I know, but I can’t help myself. There’s nothing better than a fresh slice of bread. Call me carb queen.

Crispy and still warm

This bread is  slightly dark, has a crispy crust, and it’s smoky. No, I didn’t burn it, I added smoked spelt and chipotle powder.

I have written on this blog about grünkern before: unripe, smoked, and then dried spelt berries. Grünkern is not available outside of Germany I guess, but apparently you can get something very similar in many countries. It is called freekeh, farik, or green wheat and is basically the same as grünkern only that it is made from unripe wheat berries. You can buy it at Middle Eastern stores or  online and grind it into flour yourself, if you have the possibility. Of course you can substitute whatever flour you have on hand (wheat and spelt is best) and add a little more chipotle powder to the dough for similar results.

Grünkern. Grün means green.

Smoked Spelt and Chipotle Bread

100 g smoked spelt, ground into flour*
400 g German Type 1050 wheat flour**
350 g water
10 g fresh yeast or 3 g instant dry yeast (1 t)
10 g salt
1 t chipotle powder (1 1/2 if omitting the smoked spelt. Substitute mild smoked paprika, if you think it might get too spicy.)

* Use whole wheat or whole spelt flour instead
** This is similar to first clear flour (but first clear flour has a higher gluten content), use first clear flour or 50% whole wheat and 50 % bread flour instead.

Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, knead for ten minutes until the gluten is well developed and the dough isn’t sticky anymore. Add more flour or water, if necessary. Cover and let rise for one hour or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 250°C (480°F). Shape the dough and let rise for 45-60 min, or until doubled in size again. Brush with water and sprinkle with spelt or corn meal. Transfer to oven, reduce temperature to 200°C (400°F) and bake for 45 minutes, or until nicely browned.

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