In my continuing quest to make the perfect loaf I have been trying out different flours. Kamut flour is a wholegrain and was originally grown in ancient Egypt. It is high in proteins and minerals such as selenium. It has a lovely golden hue, not unlike gram flour. You can see the lovely colour in the pic below.
The bread tasted good and it had a lighter texture than a wholemeal loaf, but I don’t think it was extraordinary and I think I prefer the taste of a spelt loaf. However, it is worth trying at least once. It has quite a sweet flavour and I think it would be good dipped into a soup. The Kamut flour I have is from Doves Farm and they suggest making pasta and shortbread with it too. I might give the shortbread a go.
500g kamut flour
7g sachet yeast
1½ tsp fine salt
2 tbsp oil
350 – 400ml warm water
Method
Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a bowl. Pour in the oil and the water (you may need the full 400ml or you may not, so go careful with the last bit, you want the dough to be soft but not too sticky) and mix well with your hands to a soft dough. Turn out onto a wooden board and knead for ten minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic and is harder to stretch. You should be able to put your finger into the dough and it should bounce back leaving only a small indentation remaining. Clean the bowl and oil lightly and smooth the dough into a ball and place into the bowl. Cover with oiled clingfilm or a bin liner and leave to rise in a draught-free place for 1-2 hours until doubled in size. Preheat your oven to as high as it will go (240°), preheating the baking tray or stone that your loaf will be sitting on at the same time.
Press the air out of the dough using your fingertips and tip onto the wooden board. Shape into a loaf and put onto a well floured surface or place into a 1lb loaf tin that has been lightly oiled. ( I shaped mine into 2 small loaves). Leave to prove for 20-30 minutes until it has risen until almost double in size. Slash the tops with a sharp knife to allow the loaf to rise better in the oven and place in the oven on the heated tray or stone. Leave for 10 minutes and then check, if it is starting to brown then turn the heat down to 200°c. Check the loaves after they have been cooking for another 10 minutes. Depending on your oven it can take between 20-40 minutes to cook. They will sound hollow when tapped on the base when they are cooked. Place onto a wire rack and leave to cool completely before slicing.
Stunning loaves! I love the slashes and the color.
Thank you Tracy, I am really pleased with how my breadmaking is coming along – no longer getting as many uneven loaves!
Yo Kath, this is great. I’m loving your perfect loaf quest. The colour of these loaves is lovely and it looks sooo tasty (even if it’s not quite as good as spelt).
Thank you and yes they were tasty and practice is definitely improving my breadmaking.
oh! I first came acroos Kamut bread a couple of months ago and already baked it twice. It is so good for breafkast!
Really enjoyed your blog!
Inês
Thankyou Ines, I am really glad you like my blog and hope you visit regularly. Kath
you have no sugar in your recipe, does the yeast still work correctly?
Absolutely, I never add sugar to my bread unless it is a sweet dough. The enzymes in the flour convert the starch in the flour into sugar that the yeast can consume. If you are using fresh yeast you can simply crumble it into the flour and the water will dissolve it as you mix, if you are using instant or easy bake yeast you can just sprinkle it into the flour and the water will dissolve it. If you are using active dried yeast (usually sold in a yellow packet in the UK) then you will need to dissolve it in a bit of the water first as the yeast granule is slightly larger and won’t readily dissolve as you mix the dough. I hope this helps, enjoy the bread, kamut is delicious.