Raisin and Walnut Spelt Bread

I knew baking bread wasn't going to be the easiest thing but oh man, making your own bread at home is serious business. I thought that after many years baking all kind of cakes, muffins, cookies, cupcakes I would be victorious...so ignorant was I!

Well I can't say the breads I've made were a disaster, actually they tasted quite good and with a nice texture but being the crazy perfectionist I am, I know there's a lot of bread-kneading training and baking practice ahead of me! ;-)

This Spelt Bread I show you today was the perfect excuse to use my new banneton (thanks for the gift sis, you da best!) and try a recipe from one of the new cookbooks I bought a few weeks ago.

The recipe is from the great spanish foodie and blogger Susana Pérez author of the blog Webos Fritos and the cookbook 'Pan con webos fritos'.

This bread has a softer texture compared to other whole wheat breads, slightly sweet and quite tender. I love the taste of this kind of breads with mixed flours, they have such a nice, wholesome and toasty flavor. Needless to say the house was filled with one of the most wonderful smells.

So roll up your sleeves and let's get to work!

Receta en español aquí!

Raisin and Walnut Spelt Bread
(recipe adapted from the book 'Pan con webos fritos')

Ingredients
2 cups (250g) bread flour.
2 cups (250g) wholegrain spelt flour.
1 cup plus 5 tbsp (320g) water.
1/2 tbsp approx. (10g) fresh yeast.
2 tsp (10g) salt.
Chopped walnuts.
Raisins.

Directions

In a large mixing bowl combine flours. Add in the water and yeast and mix well (when using fresh yeast I like to dissolve it in the water). Dust the work surface with a bit of flour to start kneading the dough. Work the dough until you get a smooth ball, with all the ingredients completely combined and trying these tricks to know if your dough is well-kneaded:

- Poke the dough with your finger and if the dough springs back quickly it's a good sign, if not you might need to keep kneading a little more.

- The Windowpane Test: pinch off a small ball of dough and stretch it into a thin layer. If you can get a paper-thin and very translucent windowpane that doesn't break it's because the gluten is fully-developed. Congrats! You're done!

Add the chopped walnuts and raisins to the dough and keep hand-kneading your bread a couple minutes.

Form a ball and let it rest in a oil-greased large bowl for 2 hours. Don't forget to cover the bowl with a damp cloth.

Remove the dough ball from the bowl and place it on the work surface, flatten it out a bit and make a perfect round ball. 

Dust your banneton with flour and put the ball inside, with the nicer side touching the base of the banneton and the seam side up. Then, cover the dough again with a damp cloth. 

Let the dough rise for 1 and a half hour to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 482 ºF (250 ºC), top and bottom elements ON. Place the dough ball on a parchment-lined baking sheet, lower the oven temperature to 428 ºF (220 ºC) and bake for 25-30 minutes approximately. Once the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow if you thump the top then it's done.

Let it cool (if you can resist the temptation) on a wire rack.