Category: Food
Correctly Spelt
After graduating from basic whole wheat flour in the early days of my baking career, spelt was next on the list of crunchy-granola staples. Spelt, of course, is simply another species of wheat, though I didn’t fully grasp that at the time. I even paraded out a “wheat-free” version of my famous Root Beer Float Cupcakes, which very clearly and prominently use spelt flour for the bulk of the batter. A swing and a miss, 18 year-old self. Now older, wiser, better at researching essential facts, and inspired by the unbeatable quality of Grand Teton Ancient Grains, it’s about time we talk about how to correctly consider spelt.
What Is Spelt, After All?
Spelt is an ancient variety of wheat that dates back at least 5,000 to 8,000 years, originally cultivated in parts of present-day Iran and southeastern Europe. It eventually made its way into Germanic and Celtic diets, becoming a staple crop throughout Central Europe, where it’s still beloved and widely used. While it fell out of favor with the industrialized agriculture boom, thanks to modern wheat’s enormous yields and pest resistance, spelt has never gone away. It’s endured like a family heirloom in traditional farming circles, and recently, begun to make a comeback in the modern kitchen.
How is Spelt Different From Modern Wheat?
Spelt is often lumped in with modern wheat, and while it is related, spelt is genetically distinct. It has a tougher outer hull, a different gluten structure, and a far richer, more diverse nutrient profile.
Modern wheat has been bred for high-gluten, high-yield performance in industrial baking to make fluffy sandwich bread and ultra-white cake flour possible. In contrast, spelt remains largely unhybridized, preserving many of its original characteristics. That means more flavor, more nutrition, and for some folks, easier digestion. While it’s not gluten-free, many people with wheat sensitivities (not celiac disease) report better tolerance for eating spelt.
What Does Spelt Taste Like?
Flavor-wise, spelt is in a league of its own. It has a subtle, earthy sweetness and a soft nuttiness. Cooked as a whole grain, it has a satisfyingly chewy bite, similar to barley, but with a bit more delicacy and a mellow, toasty undertone. I can’t help but think of cozy autumn soups or grain salad whenever I cook up a fresh pot.
When ground into flour, spelt produces a golden, soft meal that works beautifully in everything from rustic sourdough loaves to hearty cookies and wholesome muffins. It has a slightly lower gluten strength than modern wheat, which gives baked goods a tender but often more dense crumb. It’s less elastic but more flavorful, so you’ll often see it cut with bread flour or all-purpose flour to achieve a lighter loaf or dessert.
How is Spelt Used?
Spelt is wildly versatile, well beyond the flour most people are accustomed to seeing on grocery store shelves. It can slide right into nearly any recipe that calls for whole wheat. Here’s a breakdown of the most common forms:
- Whole berries: The entire grain, with its tough outer husk removed. Great for cooking like rice or barley, in grain bowls, soups, and salads. In Europe, its often used as the base of plant-based milk alternatives as well, either by itself or blended with other whole grains.
- Spelt flour: A baker’s best friend, this flour can be used in breads (its especially popular in sourdough), muffins, pancakes, pastas, and cookies. It can be swapped in for whole wheat flour in most recipes, though it’s best not to go full 100% in place of white all-purpose flour, especially in more delicate baked goods like cakes and pastries.
- Rolled spelt (spelt flakes): Much like rolled oats, this form cooks quickly and is great for breakfast porridge, granola, or baking applications.
- Puffed spelt: A light, crunchy form often used in cereals, granola, and snack bars. It’s more mild in flavor which may make it an easier sell for children or picky eaters.
- Spelt bran: In refining the grain, the outer layer (the hull) is sometimes removed and sold separately. It’s particularly high in fiber and often added to baked goods for a nutritional boost.
Spelt, The Nutritional Powerhouse
Spelt has a lot going for it nutritionally. It contains more protein than standard wheat and it brings a generous dose of fiber to the table. It’s also rich in key minerals like manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, and iron. Plus, it boasts a solid profile of B vitamins, including niacin (B3), riboflavin (B2), and thiamin (B1), all crucial for energy metabolism and nervous system health.
What really sets spelt apart is its unique combination of fiber and resistant starches, which feed beneficial gut bacteria and support digestion. Studies have suggested that it’s beneficial for supporting and repairing the microbiome, which can have huge impacts on overall health. Again, it’s not gluten-free, but anecdotal evidence (and a few small studies) suggest that spelt may be easier on sensitive stomachs than modern wheat, AKA refined white flour.
Cooking With Whole Spelt Berries
Whole spelt berries are easy to cook and hard to mess up. They hold their shape, remaining al dente even after a hard boil, and they soak in any seasonings you throw at them like culinary chameleons.
- Soak first (optional but recommended): Soaking the grains overnight or for at least 6 – 8 hours shortens the cooking time and may improve digestibility. Just cover them with plenty of water, let them sit, and drain and rinse thoroughly before cooking.
- Stove top method: Combine 1 cup of whole spelt berries with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 40 – 60 minutes if starting from dry, or 30 – 50 minutes if soaked. You’re looking for plump, chewy grains with no crunch in the center. Drain any excess water.
- Pressure cooker method: Use 2 1/2 cups of water per cup of grains. Cook soaked spelt for about 15 – 20 minutes on high pressure; unsoaked grains will need closer to 30 – 35 minutes. Allow for a natural release and drain well.
Souper Spelt
As previously mentioned, I can’t think of spelt without imagining warm, hearty autumnal vegetables. Colored in deep reds, oranges, and amber hues, the tawny brown of spelt fits with that fall harvest like it was always meant to be. As temperatures drop, my thoughts also turn to cozy soups and stews, which is why the very first thing I did with my freshly cooked spelt berries was turn them into this seasonal minestrone. They take the place of semolina pasta for a more flavorful and nutritious brew, paired with tender parsnips, squash, potatoes, and white beans to make a deeply satisfying one-bowl meal.
Infinitely adaptable, as all good soups are, you can trade the veggies for anything at the market, and anything your heart desires. Starchy vegetables like kabocha, delicata squash, turnips, rutabaga, and even radishes are all good choices when you want to switch things up. If you’re tired of kale, try shredded cabbage or shaved Brussels sprouts. All beans are beautiful, so while I tend to favor a more delicate white bean in this application, genuinely any legume would be welcome in this pot.
Clearly Spelt Out
Spelt might not be the trendiest grain on the shelf but it’s clearly stood the test of time to earn its keep. With deep historical roots, rich flavor, and real nutritional value, spelt is the ancient grain that’s as relevant today as it was millennia ago. Whether you’re baking bread, stirring up porridge, or just exploring new grains in your kitchen, spelt is well worth a spot in your pantry. Once you get a taste, you’ll want it around all the time.
Firfir For Real
Ugly but tasty; that’s firfir, alright. Made from torn pieces of injera, it’s a thrifty way to use day-old bread and a few pantry staples. Of course, leftover injera isn’t something I’ve ever had at my disposal, so rare and precious that every scrap is exhausted long before the stews alongside. Firfir is every bit as special, no matter how simple. Now that I can order injera whenever I want, firfir is back on the menu, fresh and vibrant as ever.
Injera, the spongy, sour flatbread at the heart of Ethiopian cuisine, is a flatbread I could never make from scratch. All it takes is teff flour, water, and salt, but that’s not the whole story. Days of fermentation are what create its signature flavor and texture before its spread in paper-thin layers, even finer than French crepes, demanding untold years of practice to master. Anyone without access to an Ethiopian restaurant was out of luck, until Red Fox Spices began selling both Ivory and Brown Teff Injera inside their meal kits and, most important to this culinary adventure, solo.
What Goes Into Firfir?
There’s no “correct” way to make firfir. Mercifully, that also means there’s no wrong way to do it, either. It’s a dish of memory more than measurement. You’ll find variations all across Ethiopian households, each adapted as the technique passed through the hands of generations of cooks. Some brightened with fresh tomatoes, others simply use tomato paste or sauce. Some are fiery hot, others more mild. The only constant is the teff flatbread base, liberal use of oil and onions, and a heavy hand when applying berbere.
Berbere: The Heart Behind the Heat
There is no talking about firfir, or frankly, Ethiopian cuisine at all, without singing the praises of berbere. Crimson and potent as a red-hot flame, it’s the essential spice blend that pulses through almost every dish like a low, melodic hum. Smoky chili peppers take the lead, supported by a chorus of garlic, ginger, fenugreek, cumin, cardamom, allspice, and more. Like every other element of the cuisine, proportions vary from home to home, though it will always knock you off your feet with layers of complex flavor. I’m happy to get an assist from Red Fox Spices on this one too, as it’s the real deal.
Firfir For Days
Timeless, foolproof, and always well-received, firfir can be enjoyed for any meal. In Ethiopia, it’s most commonly served for breakfast, scooped up with even more fresh injera.
Firfir may not win any beauty contests, but it’s the kind of meal that’s meant to be eaten with your hands, not your eyes. Now that the key ingredients, injera and berbere, are readily available for shipping all over the world, there’s no excuse not to bring this soulful, spicy tangle of comfort into your own kitchen.
Wordless Wednesday: Spring-Loaded
Homemade Purple Rice Paper Spring Rolls
Sip Saam Thai – Fresh Spring Rolls
SalaD.I.Y and More – Market Salad Rolls
Saigon Quan – Spring Rolls
Greens Garden Round Rock – Avocado Roll
Bamboo Bistro – Vegetable Spring Rolls
The Dirt On Clean Food
Everyone talks about “clean” food like it’s the panacea to all malaise, the upper echelon of edibles, the thing we should all strive to put on the table. Personally, I want my food dirty.
I want carrots that have known the earth, found shelter within the dark depths of the ground, and felt so moved to bring some of that with them all the way through their journey to my home.
I want leeks encased in layers of sand and silt, the materials needed to produce a more tender inner stalk. I want to spend the time to separate them, one by one, to bathe and appreciate all that went into their creation.
I want leafy greens that show up to the party with friends. Ladybugs, caterpillars, even the odd spider are wonderful plus ones. I want to know how they’ve nourished their community from their inception, and how the ecosystem has worked to pollinate and support their growth, too.
I want mangoes sticky with sap, leaving a glossy trail from their stems to my kitchen counter. I want it to tell me that it’s so incredibly sweet, it can’t possibly keep all those ripe sugars to itself.
If “clean,” antiseptic food that seems to have arrived via immaculate conception is your thing, that’s fine. I want mine filthy, having lived a real life in the earth with flavor to show for it.
Pop Quiz
Standing over a gently simmering pot of basmati rice, lid slightly ajar, I was suddenly swept up by the most familiar, cozy aroma. Nutty, warm, and unmistakably nostalgic. It took me a second to place it, but once I did, there was no denying it: popcorn. The rice smelled exactly like freshly popped popcorn.
That toasty, buttery, slightly roasted perfume has a surprising overlap between the two completely unrelated ingredients, and there’s actual science behind it. The same compound responsible for popcorn’s crave-worthy scent, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, or 2-AP for short, is the aromatic essential in basmati rice. In fact, it’s found in everything from toasted bread to pandan leaves, but it seems to come through most clearly in the iconic long grain and exploded kernel.
Scientifically Delicious
What makes the comparison even more compelling is that their similarities don’t stop at that one molecule. Not to get too nerdy, but you science buffs out there may also recognize:
Pyrazines which bring the earthy, roasted warmth.
Furfural adds a whiff of baked bread and honey.
Hexanal and nonanal layer in fresh, fatty green notes like crushed leaves.
So naturally, I wondered, what if you brought them together?
Popcorn infused into rice, by way of rich coconut milk, borrows some of its inherent toasty, buttery notes at the same time. It’s at once cozy and nostalgic, yet still tropical and sunny. A hint of sweetness rounds it out, creating that addictive interplay with an equally subtle touch of salt.
Take a page from traditional coconut rice and serve steaming spoonfuls alongside your favorite curry, under roasted vegetables, or all on its own. Like every good bowl of popcorn, it’s dangerously easy to finish the whole batch in one sitting.