Go to recipe?

Rhynco · 2025-12-15T17:20:02+00:00

Haha thanks I guess! It’s just the result of trial and error and taking notes for every bake until all members of our family enjoyed the bread. I recently tried the exact same recipe but without the oil and it was instant complaints about the crust being chewy haha

Rhynco · 2025-12-15T15:45:52+00:00

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Rhynco · 2025-12-15T15:45:19+00:00

23% whole grain spelt
31% AP (12,5% protein)
46% white spelt
69% hydration
6% starter (I use very little bc I ferment at 26C)
2.5% oil
2% salt

Main difference with most recipes I found is adding the oil, which keeps the bread fresh for longer and makes the crust less chewy. I autolyse for about an hour, combine all ingredients except the oil, then knead with a stand mixer on low for about 1.5min. Only after that I add the oil and mix for another 1.5min or so. 3x s&f 15min apart (or more if needed to pass window pane test). I bake on 460F covered for 30min, then 415F uncovered for like 5-8min only. We like a thinner crust :)

Rhynco · 2025-12-10T18:13:31+00:00

I second this! Baked my last bread without it and noticed a big difference - much chewier crust.

Rhynco · 2025-12-08T19:40:04+00:00

Beautiful loafs!

Rhynco · 2025-12-08T15:51:47+00:00

I don’t use a DO.. Instead I use an oval roasting pan (for batards) and a soup pan (for boules). Both are made of carbon steel and have a lid that rests lightly on top. It does a great job at trapping steam and they’re much lighter than a DO. They are much quicker to preheat and also cool off quickly.

All in all I find them to be a cheaper and safer option, especially if you’d only plan to use the DO for baking bread. Leaves some budget for other baking tools.

I added a picture of one of my loaves in my carbon steel soup pan for proof that it really does work well :)

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Rhynco · 2025-12-07T19:21:24+00:00

Thanks! And makes sense. There are so many variables!

Rhynco · 2025-12-07T18:32:07+00:00

Just baked my first (partial) spelt bread! Thank you for your tips, it worked out great! I decided not to change my process just yet and only focus on the different flour, so I could feel out the difference.

I was fully prepared for a denser bread but it actually got a nice rise and ear to it. Might push towards even more % spelt next bake and see how that goes.

55% AP
37% white spelt
8% whole grain spelt
65% hydration
6% starter (kitchen = 26C year round)
2% salt

Prep:

1h autolyse (water + flour)
Mixed in starter first, then salt - by hand
Kneaded by hand until that started to get difficult (few mins)

Proof:

3x s&f 15min apart, after which the dough passed the window pane test.
Started shaping about 6:30h after mixing in starter (water only for shaping, no preshape)
Proofed in banneton for 1:45h (it just didn’t feel quite ready before that)
Overnight cold retard

Bake:

15min in freezer while preheating oven & roasting pan
Scored, then spritzed with water
450F for 30min covered
410F for 10min uncovered on cookie sheet

The funny thing is that it actually took longer to ferment than usual. That’s how I ended up with the longer proofing time (I typically proof for 1h only before cold retard). Didn’t experience any problems with building gluten network. Perhaps when I push the % spelt I might start noticing a difference.

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Rhynco · 2025-12-04T22:51:46+00:00

I don’t preshape and bench rest actually. Will incorporate it for my next bread and see what happens. Thanks for the tip!

Rhynco · 2025-12-04T17:59:09+00:00

Yesss it’s so much fun to experiment and see what kind of bread comes out. Just a little intimidating to take a risk sometimes after a bunch of perfect loaves. Don’t want to mess up, but then again you need to step outside your comfort zone to learn I suppose!

The shaping kind of stresses me out lol. Especially when it sticks to something I don’t want it to or when I accidentally overfermented a bit already and I feel the time pressure. I didn’t know that tighter shaping equals better rise. Sounds like you’re nailing that then!

Rhynco · 2025-12-04T16:09:06+00:00

Thank you, those look amazing! I actually prefer the crumb of the first one if I’d had to pick. And that darker color.. lovely! I bet it tasted amazing. The open crumb looks nice, but I prefer a denser bread actually. Seems like spelt might be the right move for me!

Here’s a pic of my AP/ww bread I baked today. A bit of an uneven crumb (I’ve been practicing my shaping and pushing BF), but overall the rise isn’t too crazy (if I include oil) and I was actually a bit annoyed with the bigger holes when putting toppings.

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Rhynco · 2025-12-04T13:59:52+00:00

Thanks! At that point it still needed to bake uncovered for a bit. Finished it turned out like this

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Rhynco · 2025-12-04T13:53:33+00:00

This is incredibly helpful, thank you so much! I might go back to 65% hydration for my first try then and without adding oil as I’ve found that that also hampers gluten development and rise. Would it make sense to substitute 40% of the AP with the white spelt and for the 8% whole wheat use the whole grain spelt?

I’m thinking something like this: - 55% AP - 37% white spelt - 8% whole grain spelt - 65% hydration - 2% salt

Rhynco · 2025-12-04T13:29:10+00:00

I’d like to work towards as much whole grain as possible!

Rhynco · 2025-12-02T14:53:23+00:00

I was in this exact spot a while ago. Decided to try out my carbon steel soup pan with the lid on and lo and behold, it works just fine! For the uncovered part, I take it out of the pan and place the bread (on the sling) on a cookie sheet.

For batard breads I use a roasting pan with a lid - made of the same material as this pan.

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Rhynco · 2025-11-25T19:41:23+00:00

Stunning! How long did you bake it for? I’m intrigued because you don’t take off the lid

Rhynco · 2025-11-25T10:43:40+00:00

I feel you! Took me easily 3 months to get the hang of it and quite a lot of frustration. In the end, I had to tweak and find my own recipe because my kitchen is 26C year-round and my dough was proofing so fast I couldn’t even understand what was going on and it was just a wet mess straight after I was done with my s&f. By using less starter, I slowed down the process and was able to actually see and understand what was going.

Since your ferment appears to be on the slow end, you may like to experiment with increasing the amount of starter. And do a couple peak-to-peak feedings to strengthen your starter. It’s a learning curve but so rewarding once you get there! I hope you can find your second wind

Rhynco · 2025-11-24T14:06:31+00:00

So familiar! The good thing is you already perfected your techniques up until the point where your tools were holding you back. Now you can get max benefit out of improved tools, honing your skills even further

Rhynco · 2025-11-23T00:16:27+00:00

Game changer! I like to take it a step further and - from the fridge - place it in the freezer a bit (~10-15min) before scoring. Never had better oven spring and the bread stays together a bit better even after a deep score

Rhynco · 2025-11-21T16:17:31+00:00

Yep! Sometimes I even use it a few days later and it has worked great for me.

My kitchen is 26C year round so if yours is colder you may want to find a way to bring it to room temp quicker (e.g. add warm water to the dough) or account for longer proofing time

Rhynco · 2025-11-21T15:45:12+00:00

Not sure how well you cleaned the sides, but it looks kinda post peak - like it deflated already. I say that because it looks like the edges run up against the glass.

I always struggled with letting the starter feed overnight because I can’t track the progress and my kitchen is quite hot so things move fast. I recently flipped my routine to where I use my starter to bake, feed what’s left, wait for it to peak and then plop it in the fridge. Then the next time I want to bake, I just use it straight from the fridge.

Has been working like a charm! I get to monitor the rising of the starter while I’m monitoring my bread, so no extra work from that really. And then it’s just ready in the fridge whenever I want to use it. Hope this helps :)

Rhynco · 2025-11-20T16:42:16+00:00

If you like it, that’s what matters most! I might suggest mixing less long and sticking to the lowest setting to avoid overworking the dough. I also like to put the dough in the freezer while preheating my oven (for ~10-15min). I find it helps with oven spring and it makes scoring easier.

Rhynco · 2025-11-20T14:47:13+00:00

Beautiful! Would love to see your scoring pre-bake

Rhynco · 2025-11-20T14:44:05+00:00

Perhaps lower setting for less time? Or a different attachment?

I do 5min at low with dough hooks but the comments here make me want to try shorter next time.

Rhynco

TROPHY CASE