Ancient wheat
Spelt
Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta
Hulled hexaploid — medieval monastic grain
In the atlas
Spelt fed European monasteries when bread wheat was still a luxury. Its hull (the glume) clings like armor, which is why it survived in poor soils and why you buy it already dehulled. The gluten is plentiful but slippery — extensible, not tenacious. Treat it like a thoroughbred that hates being overworked.
Origin. Bronze Age Europe and the Near East
Flavor. Walnut, honey, a little cider.
Worth knowing
- Still a wheat: it has gluten. Not a celiac-safe grain.
- Water absorption is high; dough slacks if you knead like bread flour.
- German 'Dinkel' breads often use 100% spelt with a gentle mix.
- Hulling is industrial — home cooks almost never buy it in the hull.
Flours you can make
| Flour | Extraction | Protein | Gluten | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole-grain flour | 100% | 13.5% | 9% | Everything the berry holds — bran, germ, and endosperm. Mill 1:1 by weight. Use within days, or freeze. |
| High-extraction (85%) | 85% | 13.2% | 9.3% | Sift once through a #30–#40 sieve. Keeps most flavor and minerals, slightly stronger dough than 100%. |
| Bolted all-purpose style | 75% | 13% | 9.5% | Second sifting (#50–#60). Lighter crumb, longer shelf life, less fiber. Bran left behind is gold in porridge. |
Nutrition / 100 g
- Calories
- 338 kcal
- Protein
- 13.5 g
- Carbs
- 70 g
- Fiber
- 10.7 g
- Fat
- 2.4 g
- Iron
- 4.4 mg
- Magnesium
- 136 mg
- Zinc
- 3.3 mg
- Thiamin
- 0.36 mg
- Selenium
- 12 µg
Typical whole-grain flour / 100 g.
Sources & USDA linksBuy it retail
- Breadtopia
- Azure Standard
- Pleasant Hill Grain
- Bob's Red Mill
- Janie's Mill
- Grand Teton Ancient Grains
Availability rotates by harvest. Search the berry name plus “food grade.”
Mill Spelt now
Miller’s desk
Grain to flour
Vital wheat gluten booster
Most bags of vital wheat gluten are 75–80% protein. The booster is added on top of the flour, not swapped in.
Whole-grain flour · Moderate gluten
- Whole grain needed
- 505 g
- Flour you’ll get
- 500 g
- Bran left behind
- 0 g
- Protein in that flour
- 67.5 g · 13.5%
- Natural gluten
- 9%
- Add VWG
- None needed
- After VWG
- 13.5% protein · 9% gluten
About 2.7 cups of berries → 4.2 cups of whole-grain flour. Whole-grain milling is essentially 1:1 by weight; sifting is where you lose bran.
How to mill it
Rest freshly milled spelt 20–30 minutes (autolyse) and mix briefly.
Medium-fine. It mills faster than hard red.
Tempering: Optional.
Everything the berry holds — bran, germ, and endosperm. Mill 1:1 by weight. Use within days, or freeze.
Milling 101 →Next: bake it
Pick a loaf for this flour
13.5% protein after VWG · Spelt whole-grain flour. Sandwich loaf, focaccia, sourdough — the kitchen will scale dough, hydration, and times to this mix.
