Playing with flours (spelt)

A few years ago, baking for me almost exclusively meant reaching for that bag of all-purpose flour. Now, I'm almost as likely to also reach for my jars of whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour.  I find that I can often substitute somewhere in the neighborhood of one-quarter to one-half of the all-purpose flour in a given recipe with those whole wheat counterparts without a very noticeable difference in results.  I like doing that and feeling like I'm hopefully making a slightly more nutritious choice for my family. Personally, I also enjoy the nuttiness and little bit of extra texture provided by those flours in their own right.

Spelt muffins, with almonds and chocolate

So I've been slowly getting acquainted with whole grain flours.  But just when I think I'm making some strides (even if it is more like baby steps), I read about so many other varieties of whole grain flours that I've yet to try.  It feels like a constant game of catch-up and sometimes I just want to ignore all the chatter, all the latest and greatest, because it gets a little overwhelming.  At the same time, if I did that, I'd never learn and benefit from it.

The one whole grain flour I've been really curious about for a long time is spelt.  Articles like this one and many mentions in cookbooks have been touting it as the one to try if you were to pick one because of its mild, slightly sweet flavor.  I finally picked up a bag of spelt flour (Bob's Red Mills has everything) recently to give it a try.

As you no doubt notice, many recipes (with exceptions such as these delicious whole wheat chocolate chip cookies) call for a combination of all-purpose plus whole grain flour.  I really wanted to get a taste of the spelt alone so I tried these muffins made completely with spelt flour.  What better recipe to try than the very one printed on my bag of spelt flour.  Though I wanted a good taste of the spelt, that didn't preclude me from tossing in some chopped almonds and dark chocolate, however.

So I baked these simple spelt muffins, I tasted them, and I liked them.  The earth didn't exactly move because I think the flavor and results were pretty much in line with what I expected.  As promised, the spelt flour imparts a slightly sweet, nutty flavor.  There is no bitterness, like some find with whole wheat flour - though maybe because I use the milder white whole wheat flour, I've never found that to be an issue.  

As you can hopefully tell from the interior of the muffins, these all-spelt muffins are by no means dense - something I worried about.  Without the little bit of almonds and chocolate, these plain muffins are almost like bread and I don't mean that in a bad way - just that the flavor reminds me of a light wheat bread.  I don't think it will surprise anyone when I say these muffins taste best freshly cooled from the oven, when it has a nice crusty edge to them.  I find that leftovers are still good after you warm them up a bit in the microwave.  With those leftovers, I may have slathered on a bit of jam...and maybe a little Nutella...for my fellas.


Interestingly enough, I wanted to point out that the batter for these muffins will look on the wet side like this:

I resisted over-mixing and filled the muffin cups about 3/4 full, making a half dozen (half the recipe) for my family and I.  We had these at breakfast, a good option when you're really looking a breakfast muffin, as opposed to something more suited for dessert.  

These muffins are really easy to make, without a lot of complication since we're just talking about spelt flour, a little bit of brown sugar, milk, eggs, a touch of oil, and some mix-ins of your choice. You can skip the mix-ins altogether and opt for a blank canvas but you know I had to go with the almonds and chocolate, and I'm glad I did.  

Recipe:

Spelt Muffins
Adapted from Bob's Red Mill

- For 12 muffins - 

2 1/4 cups spelt flour
1/4 cup brown sugar or honey (I used brown sugar because I'm hoarding my honey)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (or less) salt
1 1/4 cups milk
3 eggs
1 tablespoon oil
Optional mix-ins: 1/2 cup of chopped nuts, dried fruit, or chocolate chips, or a combination (I used almonds and dark chocolate) 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Grease and flour (or use baking spray) a standard-size muffin tin.

In a large bowl, whisk together spelt flour, brown sugar (if using), baking powder, and salt.  Whisk in any mix-ins, if using.

In a bowl or large measuring cup, beat the milk, eggs, oil, and honey (if using instead of brown sugar).  Pour wet ingredients into the dry, mix together until batter is moistened and ingredients are just combined.  Divide batter among the 12 muffin cups (it will be about 2/3 to 3/4 full) and bake for 14-17 minutes, until muffins are lightly browned on top.

These muffins are best freshly cooled from the oven or eaten the same day they're baked.  Leftovers are still good, warmed in the oven or microwave.  If desired, split the muffins in half and top with jam or even Nutella.