Fire and Bread – February 7, 2010

Marta leads bread baking workshop
My dear friend Hal Walker has the ability to make music with just about anything. He is a highly skilled pianist and harm0nica player and is always exploring new instruments and ways of making music. He leads a church choir and teaches music of all varieties as an artist in residence and wandering minstrel. It is great to see him in action on his new website playing BANAKULA. Check it out.
My long time friend Yoram has been working on a website to help people assess their carbon footprint and work towards limiting their impact on the environment. This is an exciting bit of social-environmental webware. Pay him a visit at:
http://www.carbonsalon.net/
Jennifer Muller
Today at 6:20am
Hi Warren, I hope you are well. Your daughters look beautiful! I have been enjoying your bread cookbook but wanted to ask you a question about spelt. I used your recipe but cut out the white flour as I was trying to make it with just spelt. However, it wasn’t done on the inside when it should have been, and I noticed that the spelt just keeps taking in more and more water when kneading it. Do you have any suggestions for making just spelt bread with no other flour or do you always suggest using white or wheat with it? Thanks!
Today at 7:20pm
Hello jennifer,
Greetings to ol’ England. We are in sunny Canada and the girls are asleep – almost…
Always nice to talk about bread!
Baking with all spelt is nice and flavourful. As there is so little gluten to make the dough stiff, I tend to work it quite wet in the mixing bowl and kneed it as best I can in the bowl. it does not need as much kneading. then I put it in loaf tins and bake it as usual. If it is raw in the inside, then you could try baking it longe at a slightly cooler termperature.
Good Baking,
Warren