Hi Annsquire66!

Both my husband and I had problems way back when we used to eat bread from the supermarket. It could have been anything from the massive amount of yeast used, to the enzymes and pre-processing agents that are known-allergens, but not legally required to be declared on the label. All I know is that we no longer have any problems since I started baking all of our own bread!

People with a wheat intolerance, however, can get away with eating rye and spelt breads. I don't have a wheat intolerance, but spelt is my absolute favourite flour! It's so nutty and satisfying!

It works well as a sourdough - you just need to make sure (with any spelt bread) that you knead the dough a little longer, and bake it in a tin to give it lots of support when it's baking. Proving baskets work well too.

There are loads of instructions on the internet to get a sourdough starter going - it can get pretty complicated. IMHO though, it's pretty straight forward to get one started in our humid-ish climate.... just mix 50g water with 75g flour (spelt in your case) in a container that will fit in your fridge. (Don't put it in the fridge yet though). Every day, add another 50g water and 75g flour. (Water first, stir into existing starter, then stir in flour). When the mixture starts rising up and down, has lots of spores bubbling on top, and tastes like lemons, it's ready to use in baking. (Should take about 5-6 days). Keep it on the kitchen counter, or somewhere a bit warm.

After you've used it for baking, keep some back (around 25g is good enough), and pop it in the fridge. When you want to bake with it again, take it out, bring it to room temperature, and then start adding the 50g water/75g flour again. It should only take a day or two to become bubbly and active again.

When I try to create a starter at home in Canada, where it's really dry, it's such a chore to get it going. I add raisins in the first few days to try to capture some natural yeasts, and I have to keep a wet cloth between the jar and the lid to stop it from drying out. I reckon it's pretty easy here

Here's the recipe I normally use to make spelt sourdough:

The night before you want to bake, mix together a pre-ferment, cover it and leave it on the counter overnight:

200g spelt starter
500g spelt flour
600ml water

Next day, mix the pre-ferment with:

600g spelt flour
25g salt
40g caster sugar

I won't type out the rest of the instructions as I'm running out of time, and it's just the normal sourdough process that you can find anywhere on the web.... mix everything together, knead for 10-15min, let it rise for an hour, re-shape, rise for an hour, re-shape, rise for one more hour, re-shape, rise for four hours, bake 45-55 min.

Good luck!