Whole Spelt, Wheat and Millet Sourdough Bread (fresh milled flour)

Whole Grain Sourdough RecipesWhole Spelt Sourdough Recipes

31 Jan

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Introduction

This simple and fun wholegrain sourdough bread recipe made with freshly milled spelt, wheat and millet flour is another great example of how you can make 100% wholegrain sourdough bread with a range of nutritious whole grains!

“Millet is highly nutritious, gluten-free and is not acid forming, so is soothing and easy to digest. It is a good source of protein and contains high amounts of fibre, B-complex vitamins, including niacin, thiamin, riboflavin and essential amino acids methionine, lecithin and some vitamin E. It is particularly high in iron, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium.” [source]

This kind of recipe is very forgiving, and you may want to adjust the water amount for your particular wholegrain flours (they vary a lot in absorbency).

Personally, I like the high hydration of these ‘gel method’ type recipes. With the use of psyllium husk and extra water, these loaves are easy to mix, they don’t require any kneading, they ferment beautifully and they make a very flavourful, nutritious and long keeping loaf of bread.

This is a very large loaf recipe. You can make one large or two smaller loaves, or adjust the recipe to suit your needs.

Other recipes I’ve made similar to this one include:

Ragi seed (finger millet) whole grain sourdough bread
Fermented oats whole grain sourdough
100% whole millet (gluten free) sourdough bread
Black barley sourdough bread
Gel Method for Whole Grain Sourdough Bread Baking (an old video but where my idea for these types of recipes started).

Make sure you watch the video below for the full recipe demonstration. Written recipe provided below.

Spelt, Wheat and Millet Sourdough Bread

*All volume measures are Australian metric

INGREDIENTS

800g total flour:
- 400g whole spelt flour
  I mill all of my own flours at home using my Mockmill 200.
- 200g whole ‘Scout’ wheat flour
  Scout is a modern hard white wheat variety grown in Victoria by Burrum Biodynamics and sold by Sovereign Foods. Scout has a nice flavour, is very affordable and is a great ‘all purpose’ wheat - it’s good in cakes, bread, everything!
- 200g whole millet flour
  I couldn’t find out the exact variety of millet mine was, but it’s the yellow type, and looks to me like a variety of Pearl millet. As you may have seen in my other videos similar to this one, you can add almost any type of grain into your bread recipes! If you don’t have access to millet or millet flour, try: quinoa, buckwheat, sorghum, brown rice, oats, barley, anything you like!
14g salt
20g (1/4 cup) psyllium husk
1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Extra seeds are optional. We add them because we are sesame fiends!! You can also add any other small seed you enjoy! Just note that chia seeds absorb a lot of water, similar to psyllium husk.
800g water
I used cold water in the video because my flour was warm from milling. If you’re using store bought flours you can use room temperature water, unless it’s hot summertime where I’d suggest you use cold water for all your sourdough recipes! This video has more on that topic.
100g or about half a cup of whole grain flour sourdough starter
This page has everything you need to know about starting and easily maintaining your own sourdough starter.

METHOD

Add dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir until evenly distributed.
Make a well in the flour mixture and add water and sourdough starter.
Mix starter into the water first, then incorporate the rest of the dry ingredients to make a very loose, sloppy dough (it will become more firm as the flours and psyllium husk absorb the water).
Leave the dough to ferment at room temperature until it has become bubbly and risen to almost double its original volume. Check the video to see how beautifully my dough rose! I probably over-fermented mine a little by leaving it a little too long, you want to avoid that if you can. My kitchen temp was around 24°C/75°F on this day. I filmed this video in September (spring) 2024 but only got around to sharing it now, January (high summer) 2025.
As with all sourdough bread making, fermentation time depends largely on the temperature of the dough and the individual kitchen environment. As a rough guide, my doughs normally take about 4 hours to ferment in summertime, and anywhere up to 8-10 hours (or overnight) in winter. Check out this resource for more on this topic and this video for tips on how to manage sourdough baking in summertime.
Remove the fermented dough from the bowl and shape into a smooth log shape to fit your bread pan. You will need a large sized pan for this loaf (or make two smaller loaves). I spray my hands and benchtop with water to prevent sticking. It’s easier to clean up than flour!
As you’ll see in the video, I proofed this dough inside a large bread tin lined with baking paper, which I then later used to lift the dough into my preheated Emile Henry baker (affiliate link). On this day my dough took about 2 hours to proof before it was ready to bake. When proofing this kind of dough, aim for a slight increase in the size rather than a dramatic rise as you might see with a regular yeast-risen dough.
When the dough looks close to being ready to bake, preheat your oven and baking vessel (if using) to 220°C / 430°F for at least 15 minutes. A covered baking vessel is optional, but it does help trap steam around the loaf which increases oven spring. If you don’t have a covered baker that you can preheat for this loaf, just use metal bread tins.
When the oven and pot are preheated, carefully remove the hot pot from the oven, lift the dough into the pot, spray with water, cover the pot and return it to the oven.
Bake covered for about 40-50 minutes, or until the loaf is a nice dark, golden colour. I tend to bake with the lid on for the first 30 minutes, then continue baking for another 10-15 minutes until the top is nicely browned. Slightly overdone is far better than under baked, especially when it comes to 100% whole grain sourdough! Ovens vary, so check it at 45 minutes and bake further if needed.
Remove the bread from the tin and cool on a wire rack for at least one hour (preferably a few more) before slicing.
Enjoy your healthy, tasty wholegrain sourdough bread fresh with the toppings of your choice or as scrumptious toast! (Some bread storage tips in this video).

Let me know if you try this, I’d love to know!

Whole Spelt, Wheat and Millet Sourdough Bread (fresh milled flour)

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