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This post is sponsored by Grand Teton Ancient Grains but all opinions expressed are my own.
There’s something extra satisfying about baking bread with ancient grains—especially when your kids devour it warm from the oven. This Spelt Sourdough Bread recipe has quickly become a favorite in our house. I use a mix of freshly milled spelt flour and bread flour to get the best of both worlds: great rise and the rich, nutty flavor and nutrition of spelt.
Spelt’s nutty flavor and natural sweetness pair beautifully with sourdough fermentation, creating a loaf that’s hearty, nourishing, and full of flavor. I love supporting family growers like Grand Teton Ancient Grains—their sustainably grown spelt helps me bake the freshest, most flavorful sourdough loaves.
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Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love Spelt Sourdough Bread
- Why I Bake with Spelt
- Where to Purchase Spelt BErries
- Important Ingredients
- Substitutions
- Sourdough Baker’s Timeline
- How to Make Spelt Sourdough Bread
- How to Store Leftovers
- Amy’s Recipe Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Whole Grain Sourdough Recipes
- Spelt Sourdough Bread Recipe
Why You’ll Love Spelt Sourdough Bread
- Flavor – Spelt has a slightly nutty, subtly sweet flavor that’s so satisfying. It reminds me a bit of my Sourdough Rye Bread—deep, robust, and perfectly balanced with the tang of sourdough fermentation.
- Vitamins & Minerals – This loaf uses freshly milled spelt, which is packed with nutrition. Spelt is part of the farro family and retains many of its ancient grain benefits, making it a great alternative to modern wheat.
- Fiber – Like my Half Whole Wheat Artisan Sourdough and Einkorn Sourdough Bread this spelt loaf has more fiber than a typical white flour loaf. It’s hearty, satisfying, and makes a wholesome addition to any meal.
- Texture – Spelt is really easy to work with compared to other ancient grains, and it produces bread with the perfect taste and texture. For more hearty multigrain textures, try this Multigrain Sourdough Bread too.
New to Sourdough? If you are new to sourdough, learn how to make a sourdough starter from scratch and check out my Free Sourdough Beginner Guide. Using naturally fermented sourdough will take much longer, but you will love the fermentation benefits and the flavor!
Why I Bake with Spelt
I love baking with freshly milled grains whenever I can. Milling my own flour—especially from grains like spelt berries—means I’m baking with the freshest possible ingredients. Because the bran and germ stay intact, the flour isn’t just more flavorful—it’s more nutritious too. Spelt is one of my favorite ancient grains to bake with, and it’s a great place to start if you’re looking to incorporate more whole grains into your sourdough baking.
Spelt has a mild, slightly nutty flavor that works beautifully in bread, muffins, and even pancakes. It’s also a bit easier to work with than some other ancient grains, thanks to its lighter texture and more flexible dough structure. And while it still contains gluten, spelt has a different gluten composition than modern wheat, which some people find easier to digest.
There are so many health benefits too. Spelt is rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber—nutrients that help support a healthy immune system and keep you feeling full and energized. And when I source my grains from Grand Teton Ancient Grains, I know I’m supporting a company focused on sustainability and quality. It’s a product I trust—and one I feel good about using in my kitchen.
Where to Purchase Spelt BErries
I buy my spelt berries from Grand Teton Ancient Grains—a family-run regenerative farm and mill in Idaho. They grow and mill 100% organic grains and are committed to restoring ancient grains to the family dinner table through regenerative organic farming practices. They never use pesticides or herbicides on their crops, and they take care to protect the quality of their grains during harvest, storage, and cleaning.
If you’re local, you can buy directly from the farm. Otherwise, you can order spelt berries online—they offer great shipping deals when you reach a certain threshold, which is what I do. I usually stock up on a few bags at a time, and it ends up being really affordable for the quality you’re getting.
👉 Order Spelt Berries from Grand Teton Ancient Grains here and support a family-run regenerative farm. I stock up every time I bake this loaf.
Important Ingredients
- Spelt Berries – I use Grand Teton Ancient Grains spelt berries, which are such great quality. I like to mill my own spelt flour using a home Harvest Grain Mill.
- Bread Flour – A combination of spelt berries and bread flour is perfect for beginners. Adding bread flour helps give the loaf more structure and rise, balancing out spelt’s more delicate gluten.
- Sourdough Starter – Use an active/ripe sourdough starter (doubled in size/bubbly/mild sour aroma) to mix the levain. I use my regular sourdough starter to mix this levain. If you maintain a whole wheat starter, you can use that too.
- Salt – With so few ingredients, you don’t want to leave out the salt! It balances the flavors in this loaf.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Substitutions
- Spelt Berries: Substitute 100% spelt berries for the bread flour. The loaf will be a little more dense, but is still delicious.
- Spelt Flour: If you don’t have a grain mill, substitute equal weights of spelt flour for the spelt berries.
- Levain: Mix a spelt levain by substituting spelt flour instead of your regular flour. This isn’t necessary, but adds to the richness of the flavor and nutrition.
Sourdough Baker’s Timeline
Because sourdough takes time to rise, I include sourdough sample schedules in my sourdough recipes. These schedules are not meant to be followed exactly but rather give you an idea of a timeline – which is very dependent on the temperature of your dough/starter and the activity of your starter.
Note: The schedule assumes a dough temperature of 76-80ºF. I hope it’s helpful to you.
| Day 1 | Mix Levain |
| 9:00 PM – 9:00 AM | Mix Levain Let Rise Overnight at 78ºF Note: Ripe, bubbly, active sourdough starter can be substituted for levain |
| Day 2 | Mix Dough/Bulk Fermentation/Folds/Shape/Cold Fermentation |
| 9:00 AM | Mix Dough |
| 9:30 AM | Stretch and Fold #1 |
| 10:00 AM | Stretch and Fold #2 |
| 10:30 AM | Stretch and Fold #3 |
| 10:30 AM – 1:00 PM | Rest and complete bulk fermentation at 78ºF |
| 1:00 PM | Pre-shape |
| 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM | Shape and rise |
| 3:30 – 5:00 PM | Refrigerate |
| 5:00 PM | Bake |
If you want to add a cold fermentation, start the dough later in the day. Spelt can overproof more easily than an all-purpose or bread flour, so I don’t recommend leaving it in the fridge for more than 12 hours.
How to Make Spelt Sourdough Bread
Mix the Levain
Step 1: Mix Levain. Combine ripe sourdough starter with flour and water (Image 1). Cover and let rise overnight (for about 10-12 hours) at 78ºF until peaked, active and bubbly (Image 2).
Spelt Flour Tip: You can substitute whole grain spelt flour for all-purpose or bread flour in the levain (see Image 6), but keep in mind that spelt ferments faster. If you’re planning an overnight rise, try mixing your levain with cooler water to help slow things down.
Mill the Spelt berries
Step 2: Mill the Berries. Use a grain mill to mill the spelt berries on a fine setting for best texture (Images 3, 4 & 5). 250 grams of spelt berries is roughly equivalent to 250 grams of spelt flour.
Extra Spelt Flour? If you mill extra spelt flour, use it right away or store in an air-tight container in the freezer. You can also use pre-milled spelt flour in this recipe.
Mix the Dough
Step 3: Mix Dough. When your levain is ripe, bubbly, doubled in size and active (Image 6), it’s time to mix your dough. Mix the ripe levain and water in a large mixing bowl (Image 7). Whisk together until mostly combined (Image 8) before adding the freshly milled spelt flour, bread flour and salt (Image 9). Mix until it forms a wet sticky dough (Image 10). Cover and let sit for 30 minutes at around 78°F (Image 11).
Want a 100% Spelt Loaf? Leave out the bread flour and build your levain with spelt flour. Reduce the water in the dough to 330 grams—about 66% hydration instead of the 70% with bread flour. Spelt doesn’t absorb as much water as modern wheat, so it does better with slightly lower hydration.
Bulk Fermentation
Step 4: Bulk Fermentation. In artisan bread baking, we skip traditional kneading and instead use a series of gentle folds to strengthen the gluten. For this dough, aim for 3–4 sets of stretch and folds over a 1 1/2 to 2-hour period if your dough is around 78°F. Cover the dough and rest it for 30 minutes between each set.
Stretch and Fold: To perform a stretch and fold, wet your hand to prevent sticking. Reach down to the bottom of the dough, gently stretch it upward (Image 12), and fold it over the top (Image 13). Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Do this a total of four times (one full rotation). Cover (Image 14) and let rest for 30 minutes, then repeat every 30 minutes for a total of 3–4 rounds (Image 15).
Step 5: Rest. After completing the 1 1/2 hour stretch and fold process (Image 16), allow the dough to finish bulk fermentation by resting in a warm spot (around 78–80°F) until it has risen about 40% and looks puffed up (Image 17). The surface should appear smooth, jiggly, puffed up and risen and may have a few scattered bubbles. This final rest typically takes 1.5 to 2 hours at 78°F, but check in often to assess readiness.
Shape the Dough
Step 6: Pre-Shape Dough. Turn the dough out onto the counter. Wet your hands and bench knife if needed. Use the bench knife on one side and your other hand on the opposite side to gently tuck the dough under itself (see Images 18 & 19). Work your way around the dough to build surface tension and form it into a loose ball. Let it rest uncovered for about 30 minutes.
Step 7: Bench Rest. Let the dough rest uncovered on the counter for 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax before shaping (Images 20 & 21). These photos show the difference between a 50% spelt loaf (Image 20) and a 100% spelt loaf (Image 21) during resting. Both make delicious bread, but the 50% spelt loaf tends to have a lighter texture and a smoother, more open crumb.
Step 8: Shape Dough. Prepare a banneton basket (either a batard or boule shape). Place a kitchen towel or hair net in the bowl and sprinkle with flour. If you use the hair net, you should not need to use much flour. Using the bench knife, lift the dough up off the counter and place it on top of the countertop – floured side down.
Pull the dough down toward you and then fold up to the middle of the dough (Image 22). Take the right edge and pull out and then into the middle of the dough (Image 23). Take the left side of the dough and stretch out and then back to the middle (Image 24). Repeat with the top of the dough, forming a little “package” of dough (Image 25, 26, & 27). Gather the bread into a circle and use a bench knife to lift the bread and place into your lined bowl (Images 28 & 29). Pinch seam closed (Images 30 & 31).
Final Proof (Rise)
Step 9: Rise. Cover the shaped dough with plastic wrap, a bowl cover, or a shower cap and let it rise in a warm spot (around 78°F) for 1½ to 2 hours. It’s ready when it looks puffed and has risen about 20% (Image 32). Refrigerate for 1–2 hours to help firm up the dough before scoring and baking.
Why no cold fermentation? With freshly milled grains, a long cold fermentation can easily lead to overproofing and a much stronger sour flavor. If you’d still like to cold ferment the dough, reduce the starter or levain to about 80 grams and refrigerate right after shaping for 12–14 hours overnight.
Baking Spelt Sourdough Bread
Step 10: Bake. Place a Dutch oven (lid and all) into your oven and preheat to 500°F.
Scoring the Dough: Once the oven has preheated for 30 minutes, remove the loaf from the refrigerator. Take off the plastic wrap or cover—this is much easier while the dough is still cold. Place a piece of parchment paper over the dough, then flip it so the dough sits on the parchment. Remove the bowl or banneton and kitchen towel. Lightly dust the top with flour for contrast (or skip it if you prefer no contrast). Use a bread lame or sharp knife to score the dough (Image 33).
Baking the Bread: Using oven mitts, carefully remove the Dutch oven from the 500°F oven. Take off the lid and gently place the bread inside—parchment paper and all. Be cautious not to touch the hot sides. Put the lid back on and return the Dutch oven to the oven.
Lower the temperature to 450°F and bake for 25 minutes. Then, remove the lid and bake uncovered for another 20 minutes, or until the crust is deeply golden and the loaf is fully baked. The internal temperature should be between 205–210°F. Remove the bread to a cooling rack and let the bread cool completely before slicing (Image 34).
No Dutch Oven? You can also bake this sourdough spelt bread in a loaf pan for sandwich-style slices. It won’t have the same crust as a Dutch oven bake, but it still makes a delicious, soft loaf perfect for everyday use.
How to Store Leftovers
Once the loaf has cooled completely, slice it and store the slices in a freezer-safe bag. Freeze for up to 1–2 months. When you’re ready to eat, just toast a slice straight from the freezer or let it thaw at room temperature before opening a jar of jam and slathering on some butter, jam and a sprinkle of sea salt – yum!
Amy’s Recipe Tips
Spelt berries typically absorb less water and have a more delicate gluten structure than modern wheat, so handle the dough gently. Overworking can lead to a dense or crumbly loaf of spelt sourdough bread. Spelt also ferments faster, so watch your rise times closely to avoid overproofing.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, spelt is not gluten-free. It’s an ancient grain that hasn’t been hybridized with modern wheat varieties, making it a more traditional form of wheat. While it contains gluten, its weaker gluten structure—especially when fermented with sourdough—may be easier to digest for some people.
Spelt has a weaker gluten network as an ancient grain than modern wheat, so I haven’t found much benefit from an extended autolyse. The sourdough process already hydrates the grain well and I prefer not to autolyse this loaf of bread.
If you already have a sourdough starter, you can transition to feeding it spelt flour, but I prefer to mix a levain for my spelt bread. Use your existing sourdough starter to mix your levain using spelt flour and water. This will give you an almost 100% spelt levain (starter) to use in your dough.
Yes, you can add inclusions to this spelt sourdough bread just like you would with any classic sourdough loaf.
Whole Grain Sourdough Recipes
If you tried this Spelt Sourdough Bread or any other recipe on my website leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Happy Baking!
Spelt Sourdough Bread
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Ingredients
Levain (takes 10-12 hours until peaked, bubbly and active at 78°F)
- 5 grams sourdough starter, about 1 teaspoon, ripe, bubbly and active
- 50 grams all-purpose or bread flour, heaping 1/3 cup, or substitute spelt flour, see recipe notes
- 50 grams water, about 3 Tablespoons
Spelt Sourdough Bread
- 100 grams levain, ripe bubbly and active, see recipe notes, scant 1/2 cup
- 350 grams water, scant 1 1/2 cups
- 10 grams salt, about 1 1/2 teaspoons
- 250 grams spelt berries, about 2 cups, see recipe notes
- 250 grams bread flour, scant 2 cups
Instructions
Day 1 Mix Levain (takes 10-12 hours until peaked, bubbly and active at 78°F)
- Mix together ripe sourdough starter, bread flour and water. Set aside to ripen for 10-12 hours at 78°F. The levain is ready when it’s doubled in size, peaked, bubbly, active and has a milky sweet aroma.Note: 100 grams of ripe, bubbly, active sourdough starter can be substituted for levain in this recipe. Spelt flour can also be substituted for all-purpose or bread flour in this recipe, but the fermentation will happen faster (decreases the temperature of the mixed levain if you want it to rise overnight).
Spelt Sourdough Bread
- Mill the Berries: Mill the wheat berries using a grain mill. Measure out 250 grams of spelt berries and mill into spelt flour on a fine setting. You will have 250 grams of spelt flour. Note: If you mill extra spelt flour, use it right away or store in an air-tight container in the freezer. You can also use pre-milled spelt flour in this recipe.
- Mix Dough: To a large bowl, mix together ripe levain with water. Whisk together until mostly combined. Then add salt, spelt flour and bread flour. Mix together using a dough whisk or spoon until a wet and sticky dough forms and the ingredients are fully combined. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Folds: After the dough has rested, you will perform a series of “stretch and folds” over the next 1 ½ hours. The goal is to strengthen the dough through a gentle kneading process. To “stretch and fold,” wet your hand (so it doesn’t stick to the dough). Reach around the dough down to the bottom of the bowl, pull the dough up and over and place it on top of the dough. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Turn another quarter turn and repeat. Perform one more quarter turn, stretching and folding the dough. Cover and set aside. Take note of how the dough feels through this process. It will go from feeling a little shaggy to smooth and elastic. Cover the bowl and wait about 30 minutes between stretch and folds.
- Stretch and fold #1: 30 minutes into bulk fermentationStretch and fold #2: 30 minutes later, the dough will spread out. Stretch and fold again.Stretch and fold #3: 30 minutes later, stretch and fold again.Stretch and fold #4: 30 minutes later, stretch and fold again. You should notice the dough feeling more cohesive and strong during this stretch and fold and not needing very much folding to come together. If your dough still feels loose, add in another couple of stretch and folds to help strengthen and tighten the gluten strands.
- Rest: Cover the dough and let rise for 1.5-2 more hours at 78ºF. You’ll know the dough is ready to shape when the dough is puffed up about 40%, jiggles when you shake the bowl, and it may have scattered bubbles visible on the sides and top.If your dough is cooler, this will take longer and you will want to look for a larger percentage rise before shaping the dough.
- Pre-shape: Tip the bowl upside down, allowing the dough to fall onto a clean counter surface. Be gentle to avoid degassing the dough as much as possible. Wet your hands and the bench knife if needed and push the bench knife under the dough on one side and your free hand on the other side to tuck the dough under itself. The goal is to introduce some tension into the dough. Repeat this process, going around in a circle until you have a ball of dough.
- Bench Rest: Let the dough rest uncovered for about 30 minutes at room temperature. The dough will flatten a little as it sits. This allows the gluten in the dough to relax and prepares the dough to be shaped.
- Shaping: Prepare a bowl or banneton. Place a kitchen towel or hair net in the bowl and liberally flour as needed. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough if desired. Using a bench knife, lift the dough up off the counter and place it on top of the countertop – floured side down. This ensures that the flour is staying mainly on the outside of the dough.Going around in a circle, pull the dough sideways towards you and then fold up to the top of the round. Move 90 degrees and repeat the same process pulling the dough sideways and then folding up to the top. As you continue this process around the dough, increase the tension as you pull. Gather the bread into a circle and place into a lined bowl.Note: It is possible to shape the dough without any extra flour. The dough can stick to the kitchen towel but doesn't stick to the hair nets if cold proofed.
- Rise: Set the dough in a warm, 78ºF spot and let rise for 1 1/2 – 2 hours until puffed up. Place in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours to firm up before baking.Note: If you want to cold ferment the dough, skip the warm rise and place it directly in the refrigerator. You will also want to alter your timeline, mixing the dough later in the day so the dough doesn't over-proof in the refrigerator. I would not cold ferment this loaf longer than 12 hours for best results/oven-spring.
- Preheat the oven: Put a Dutch oven (top and all) into the oven and preheat to 500°F for 20 minutes. You are working with very high temperatures, so make sure you have some good hot pads. Once preheated for 20 minutes, pull the loaf out of the refrigerator. Remove the covering. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. Flip the dough over so it is now sitting on the parchment paper. Take off the bowl/banneton and the kitchen towel.
- Scoring: Use a very sharp knife or bread lame to score the dough. Take the bread lame and score on one side of the dough, at a shallow angle about 30º and 1 inch deep. Score straight from the refrigerator on the cold dough for best results.
- Baking: Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the 500°F oven. Take the lid off and place your bread into the Dutch oven (including parchment paper – this helps with the transfer). Put the lid on and put it back in the oven. Lower the temperature to 450°F and bake for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, take the lid off the Dutch oven and bake for another 20 minutes, until the bread reaches an internal temperature of 205 – 210ºF. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven to a cooling rack and let the bread cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hello! There are some errors in step 12 – it says to lower the temp to 450 twice. Should the second one be 400? It also doesn’t have a baking time for after the lid is removed. I’m guessing another 25 minutes? Thanks!
Sorry about that Sarah! I only lower the temperature once to 450ºF for the entire bake. I also bake it for about 20 more minutes with the lid off until it reaches 205-210ºF. I fixed that in the recipe card.
This was delicious and a huge hit with my family and friends! Loaf came out beautiful and moist, not dry like some I have tried before. Thanks again Amy for a delicious easy to follow recipe!!
Thanks for the review! I’m glad it turned out great.
Never mind! I found the chart 🙂
Great!
Do you have a time chart for this Spelt Sourdough Recipe? I would greatly appreciate it!!
my crusts seem to go really hard, not very good to chew. what am I doing wrong?
Hard crust on spelt is usually from baking a bit too long or too much steam. Try shortening the bake slightly or lowering the temp a little. You can also brush with butter after baking for a softer crust.
Amy, is this a soft bread or a real crusty chewy bread
It is an artisan style loaf, so the inside is soft and chewy and the outside is crusty. Hope that helps!
My kids loved this bread! I love the option for half spelt and half bread flour. This was easy to work with and tastes delicious.