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A crusty rye and spelt sourdough bread made with 80% spelt and 20% rye flour. It’s packed with flavor and full of nutritional benefits. This rustic no-knead bread requires very little hands-on time. It includes a final overnight proof in the fridge and is ready to be baked the next morning. Naturally leavened with a stiff sourdough starter.

Freshly baked loaf of spelt sourdough bread in a round banneton.

Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need

Sourdough starter – for this recipe, you need a sourdough starter that’s strong enough to double in size within 4 – 6 hours after feeding.
White spelt flour – spelt is an “ancient grain” and a subspecies of common wheat. It can be used to replace wheat flour in many recipes, but has slightly different baking properties.
Whole grain spelt flour – for additional flavor and nutrition. It’s rich in fiber and minerals such as iron, magnesium, and zinc.
Light rye flour – for additional flavor and to counteract the extensibility of the spelt flour. This makes the dough a bit firmer and easier to work with.
Water – lukewarm at around 30° C.
Fine sea salt – fine grain salt is easier to distribute throughout the dough.
Digital kitchen scale – for best results, always weigh your ingredients. It’s more accurate than measuring by volume.
Mixing bowl – to prepare the dough.
Fork or dough whisk – to mix the ingredients.
Bench scraper – to help shape and handle the dough.
Round proofing basket – to help the bread retain its shape while proofing.
Plastic bag or tea towel – to cover the dough while resting.
Dutch oven or large oven-safe stock pot – this creates a steamy environment for the bread to be baked in and results in better oven spring, a softer crumb and a thin and crispy crust.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1

In the morning, prepare the leaven: Mix the sourdough starter with lukewarm water and flour. Let it rest in a warm spot (around 28° Celsius) for 4 -6 hours. It’s ready to use when it has doubled or tripled in size, looks bubbly and still has a slightly domed top. Once the starter is ripe, remove the amount required for the recipe and put the remaining starter in the fridge for the next use.

Step 2

Prepare the main dough: In a mixing bowl, combine the active leaven, flour, water, and salt. Use a dough whisk to bring everything together into a shaggy dough, and finish mixing by hand. Make sure that everything is well combined without any dry patches of flour left. Let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Then, perform a few rounds of the slap & fold technique to build dough strength, about 1-3 minutes. This helps to make the dough smooth and elastic. Shape it into a round and put it into a lightly oiled mixing bowl. Cover with a plastic bag or damp tea towel.

Step 3

Let the dough rise in a warm spot (around 28° C) for 3.5 – 4 hours. By the end of the bulk fermentation, the dough should have increased in size. You should see lots of smaller air bubbles throughout the dough and some larger ones on the surface. If the dough still looks dense, let it rest longer.

Step 4

Flour the proofing basket and set aside. Pre-shape the dough: Gently turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, bring all 4 corners of the dough into the center, overlapping, to form a loose ball. Flip it over (seam side down) and let it rest for 15-30 minutes on your work surface. During the bench rest, the gluten will relax, and the dough will spread out a bit. Flip the dough over again (seam side up) and shape a boule (round loaf). Put the dough into the prepared proofing basket with the seam side down. Cover it with a plastic bag or tea towel and put it in the fridge overnight for the final proof.

Step 5

The next morning, pre-heat the oven to 230° C with the Dutch oven inside. Turn the dough out on a piece of parchment paper and gently lift it into the Dutch oven. Bake covered for 25 minutes. For this recipe, there is no need to score the bread. It will expand and tear open organically for a more rustic appearance. After the first 25 minutes, carefully lift the bread out of the Dutch oven and finish baking directly on the oven rack for another 15 minutes, or until the crust has a deep golden hue. The bread is done if you hear a hollow sound when tapping the bottom with your knuckle. Let the loaf cool down completely before slicing. If you cut it while it’s still hot, you risk ending up with a gummy and sticky crumb. The wait is worth it!

Sample Baking Schedule

Day 1

8 AM: Make the leaven.
12:30 PM: Make the main dough and let it rest for 30 min.
1:00 PM: Slap & fold. Then start bulk fermentation.
4:30 PM: Pre-shape the dough.
5:00 PM: Shape and proof in the fridge overnight.

Day 2

6:30 AM: Pre-heat the oven.
7:00 AM: Bake bread.
7:40 AM: Take it out of the oven and let cool down completely.
8:30 AM: Ready to eat!

Loaf of spelt sourdough bread on parchment paper with a bread knife next to it.

Common Questions About Spelt Bread

No, spelt bread is not gluten-free. Spelt is an ancient variety of common wheat and contains gluten.

Spelt bread usually has soft crumb and tender texture. However, it doesn’t rise as high as regular wheat bread because it has a more delicate gluten structure.

Spelt flour can be used to replace wheat flour in many recipes, but it rises and bakes differently. Spelt is a lot more extensible but less elastic than wheat, which means it can stretch out a lot but doesn’t bounce back easily. Spelt breads tend to spread out a bit after shaping and don’t rise as high as regular wheat breads. Spelt flour typically also absorbs less water than wheat. If you substitute wheat with spelt, you might have to lower the hydration of the recipe. If spelt dough is too wet, it gets extremely sticky and difficult to handle.

More Sourdough Recipes You May Like:

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A freshly baked loaf of rye bread on a rustic wooden table.

dark rye sourdough bread with sunflower seeds.

Freshly baked rosemary sourdough bread with a small jug of olive oil and fresh twigs of rosemary next to it.

A loaf of sourdough on a marble table in front of a dark wooden door.

Slices of rustic sourdough bread on a wooden board with butter and jam.

Sliced loaf of spelt sourdough bread on a rustic backdrop.

Rye and Spelt Sourdough Bread

published by: Julia

A crusty rye and spelt sourdough bread made with 80 % spelt and 20 % rye flour. It's packed with flavor and full of nutritional benefits. Naturally leavened, only using sourdough starter.

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Prep 20

Cook 40

Rest Time 13

Total 14

Course Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine Bread

Servings Loaf

Calories 1459 kcal

Equipment

Digital kitchen scale – for best results, always weigh your ingredients. It's more accurate than measuring by volume.
Fork or dough whisk – to mix the ingredients.
bench scraper – to help shape and handle the dough.
Round proofing basket – to help the bread retain its shape while proofing.
Plastic bag or tea towel – to cover the dough while resting.
Dutch oven or large oven-safe stock pot -this creates a steamy environment for the bread to be baked in and results in better oven spring, a softer crumb and a thin and crispy crust.

Ingredients

For the Leaven:

30 g Sourdough starter
30 g Water – lukewarm around 30° C
60 g Flour – All-purpose flour or white spelt flour

For the Main Dough

80 g Leaven – keep the rest in the fridge to make the leaven for your next bread
210 g Water – lukewarm around 30° C
60 g Light rye flour
90 g Whole grain spelt flour
150 g White spelt flour

Instructions

In the morning, prepare the leaven: Mix the sourdough starter with lukewarm water and flour. Let it rest in a warm spot (around 28 degrees Celsius) for 4 -6 hours. It's ready to use when it has doubled or tripled in size, looks bubbly and still has a slightly domed top. Once the starter is ripe, remove the amount required for the recipe and put the remaining starter in the fridge for the next use.
Prepare the main dough: In a mixing bowl, combine the active leaven, flour, water, and salt. Use a dough whisk to bring everything together into a shaggy dough and finish mixing by hand. Make sure that everything is well combined without any dry patches of flour left. Let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Then, perform a few rounds of the slap & fold technique to build dough strength, about 1-3 minutes. This helps to make the dough smooth and elastic. Shape it into a round and put it into a lightly oiled mixing bowl. Cover with a plastic bag or damp tea towel.
Let the dough rise in a warm spot (around 28° C) for 3.5 – 4 hours. By the end of the bulk fermentation, the dough should have increased in size. You should see lots of smaller air bubbles throughout the dough and some larger ones on the surface. If the dough still looks dense, let it rest longer.
Flour the proofing basket and set aside. Pre-shape the dough: Gently turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, bring all 4 corners of the dough into the center, overlapping, to form a loose ball. Flip it over (seam side down) and let it rest for 15-30 minutes on your work surface. Then, flip the dough over again (seam side up) and shape a boule (round loaf). Put the dough into the prepared proofing basket with the seam side down. Cover it with a plastic bag or tea towel and put it in the fridge overnight for the final proof.
The next morning, pre-heat the oven to 230° C with the Dutch oven inside. Turn the dough out on a piece of parchment paper and gently lift it into the Dutch oven. Bake covered for 25 minutes. After the first 25 minutes, carefully lift the bread out of the Dutch oven and finish baking directly on the oven rack for another 15 minutes, or until the crust has a deep golden hue. The bread is done if you hear a hollow sound when taping the bottom with your knuckle. Let the loaf cool down completely before slicing.

Nutrition

Calories: 1459kcalCarbohydrates: 280gProtein: 48gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 0.3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.2gSodium: 24mgPotassium: 284mgFiber: 41gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1IUCalcium: 31mgIron: 14mg

Keywords Artisan Bread, Beginner-friendly, dark bread, naturally leavened, Sourdough, Sourdough baking, Sourdough bread, spelt bread