Making Carob Bread with My Spelt Sourdough Starter

The whole science of making bread has always fascinated me.  Actually baking in general.  So its been challenging to say the least that due to my digestive issues and autoimmune challenges I’ve had to change the way I eat and bake.   There’s no more sugar laden, chocolate indulgent, dairy filled , white flour desserts or breads for me anymore.   Instead I’ve had to make adjustments.   I noticed the impact gluten as well as grains were having on my body and I had to cut them out.  Chocolate was causing flare ups for me due to the caffeine so that was removed.   Anything with refined sugar was also removed.  I began to feel better and my flare ups were lessening.  However there would be those occasions where I slipped up and went back to eating what I eliminated from consumption.  And then I would feel horrible.

So after much work on my digestion system (which I’ll go over what I did on a blog post coming soon),  I’ve been able to reintroduce a few grains and low gluten items.  How was I able to do this?  By fermentation.  Now even with fermenting my grains I try not to go overboard eating them.  Maybe 3-4 times out of the week, I’ll have something like a sandwich or waffles.   Fermentation has definitely given me a new way of baking which allows for easier digestion

Flours To Ferment

How I was able to reintroduce gluten back into my system is by making my own sourdough.   To do this it was important for me to use ancient grain, non-GMO organic flours.  Spelt is a flour I wanted to use due to the flour having lower phytic acid (which is an anti-nutrient found in grains).   Spelt also has higher amounts of zinc, copper and more manganese than regular wheat. (1)  This grain is also known for having high levels of iron and is more easy to digest than regular wheat.   I’ve found Arrowhead Mills spelt flour to be really good and I used it to start my starter.

Another flour I wanted to use is Einkorn.  Einkorn flour is another ancient grain.  Just like spelt, einkorn flour is loaded with iron, copper and manganese.   This flour also has less gluten than regular wheat.  Also einkorn flour has carotenoids, which are antioxidants to help build the immune system and help with inflammation. (2)  The einkorn flour I’ve been using is Jovial’s einkorn flour.  Jovial also carries a sprouted einkorn flour for even more digestibility ease.

Creating Sourdough

The next step was to create a sourdough starter, which is basically fermenting grains.   Fermentation drastically reduces the phytic acid and lectins in the grains to allow for much easier digestion.  This fermentation step is what I feel to be the most important step when introducing gluten back into the body.   So I found two websites to help me do this.  This one right here and this one.  I started a spelt sourdough by using a combination of the methods from both websites.  The process was very easy and the whole fermentation process took a total of 7 days.

*My decision to just use spelt for my sourdough starter was due to the higher levels of gluten in spelt.   The einkorn flour comes into play as the flour I’ll be using in the recipes I bake.

Sourdough Creations

My first creation using spelt sourdough was to make flatbreads.  To check out my sourdough flatbread recipe click here.   I always feel like it’s a waste to throw away some of the starter before feeding it.  The reason why disposing some of the starter is necessary is to control the amount of starter so that you don’t have an over abundance of it.  I equate it to the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in the movie Ghostbusters.  He was a cute little thing when he was little until he became massive.

My most recent creation using the sourdough starter has definitely opened my eyes to the many possibilities of what I can do with my spelt sourdough.  I was inspired by Maurizio’s (creator of The Perfect Loaf )  banana bread recipe.   When I saw his recipe I envision a quick bread using my spelt starter but instead of  it being a banana bread, making it carob bread.

Now sometimes my baking ideas hit it out of the ballpark and sometimes they go far left like foul balls but this is definitely a time where I’m happy to say this carob bread idea proved to be a home run!

Carob Bread

I can’t say enough about this bread.  It’s a quick bread that is low in sugar and plant based.   The bread is moist and soft but sturdy enough to add nut butter and jam on a slice.   There’s a depth of flavor in the bread from the sourdough starter, carob and the addition of reishi mushroom (If you’ve been following me for a while you know I like to add reishi mushroom and carob together :)).  Because of the cake like texture of the bread, you could honestly take a slice place some fresh raspberries on top with a little non dairy ice cream  or  banana nice cream and turn it into a dessert.

I’m simply in love with how this came out.  It’s worth starting a spelt sourdough starter just for this recipe alone.  If you should try this please comment below and tell me what you think!

The Recipe