Today I tried some new flours in a bread recipe - substituted them for some of the whole wheat. Put in kamut, barley, millet and spelt. The texture of the bread was wet, but that might be because my bread machine was being fussy. That's not my problem - the taste of the bread was horrible! Kind of like sour parmesan cheese (not a good sourdough flavor and there was no sourdough in it anyway). It was not edible. What went wrong here? Do any of these flours impart a sourish flavor? I know my whole wheat was good, but maybe one of these new bags of the other flours was bad? I'm afraid to use them now.

-- Christina (introibo2000@yahoo.com), February 12, 2001

Answers

Christina -- I've used spelt flour in past and got the same results. I think it's matter of how the flour is stored prior to purchase. I believe (anyone out there feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, please, because I'm assuming here) that spelt flour needs to be refrigerated, or it goes "off". The loaf I made was very wet (a friend later told me that you have to use more spelt flour than regular flour) and was really a horrible, sour, musty taste. The kids wouldn't eat it, and neither would my husband -- and normally I can't keep them away from the bread bin!!!

-- Tracy (trimmer@westzone.com), February 12, 2001.

Sounds like that's it, Tracy. Thanks for the info.

-- Christina (introibo2000@yahoo.com), February 12, 2001.

I'm not so sure that the spelt flour was the problem, unless it was really, really old (spoiled!). I run the deli/bakery in a healthfood store, and use fresh spelt flour in lots of recipes. You cannot tell the difference between spelt and wheat if the flour is fresh. Also, I never use more spelt than wheat in recipes. I would taste a tiny bit of each of the other flours on the tip of a finger, and see about that sour taste. I've used lots of unusual flours, and some do taste weird, compared to what we're used to. Good luck.

-- Cathy in NY (hrnofplnty@yahoo.com), February 13, 2001.

What is spelt flour??

-- Ardie from WI (a6203@hotmail.com), February 13, 2001.

We buy spelt flour in bulk and don't refrigerate it. It makes great bread, substituted for whole wheat. We occasionally get sour bread, maybe when we use "almost too old" whole milk. I find that barley flour and soy flour give a (possibly) sour taste I don't like if I use too much Our "trick" to perfect bread is to use soaked, just sprouting wheat berries in bread whenever we can - sweet and spongy every time.

-- David C. (fleece@eritter.net), February 13, 2001.

Spelt is definitely an acquired taste. I know many people who say it tastes like dirt. If you have not been using it regularly, it may just be that you don't like spelt. Kamut, on the other hadn is wonderful and makes great bread.

-- Deena Johnston (DeenaJohnston@aol.com), February 13, 2001.

The only time we have really liked spelt in our bread was when I ground it fresh.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), February 13, 2001.

I've baked with spelt and kamut as well. I've found that the spelt tastes very much like regular wheat bread, maybe even a little "nuttier" in flavor. I think the taste better than regular whole wheat. I've never thought spelt tasted sour or like dirt. Amaranth flour, to me, tastes like dirt! I grind spelt just before using it and add some vital wheat gluten since the gluten in both spelt and kamut tends to be weaker and yields heavier loaves. Spelt is the ancestor of modern day wheat (before the plant breeders got to it) and I think kamut is too.

-- Diane (dshogren@uswest.net), February 13, 2001.

I just took my second batch, ever, of bread out of the oven. I just used flour, salt, yeast and water. What the heck is spelt and kamut?

-- Martin Boraas (boraas@miliserv.net), February 13, 2001.

Thanks for comments, everybody. Martin, as noted in the posting above, spelt and kamut are differents kinds of flours related to wheat. Another is quinoa. Check your local healthfood store for these and other flour types.

-- Christina (introibo2000@yahoo.com), February 13, 2001.