Spelt

Spelt is a tall hulled wheat species that grows up to around 1.5 metres, with long, loose ears. The grains remain enclosed in tough husks after threshing, which protects them from pests and pollution but requires an additional dehulling step before milling. The kernels are reddish-brown, larger than modern wheat, and plump when cooked. Spelt flour is slightly softer and more extensible than common wheat flour, and the flavour is mild, nutty and a little sweet. Whole spelt berries are chewy and are sold in health food shops and bakeries.

Spelt is thought to have arisen through hybridisation of cultivated emmer wheat with a wild goat grass, and then possibly again with bread wheat, in south-western Asia or Europe several thousand years ago. Archaeological evidence shows it was widely grown in the Bronze Age across central Europe, in Switzerland, Germany, France, and the Balkans. It grows well in cooler climates and poor soils, and it needs fewer inputs than modern wheats. Today it is grown mostly in Europe, notably Germany, Switzerland and Poland, along with North America.

Spelt was a major bread cereal in much of Europe from the Bronze Age through the Middle Ages, and Roman writers mention a grain called far, often translated as emmer or spelt. In the German-speaking world it was an important food, and the medieval abbess Hildegard of Bingen praised it in her writings. Its husks protected the grain in storage, which suited farmers in cool wet regions.

In the twentieth century spelt was largely displaced by high-yielding modern wheats, which are easier to thresh. It survived in niche regions, such as parts of Germany and Switzerland, where it was known as Dinkel and used in Grünkern, the unripe dried form. The revival of interest in organic farming and heritage grains since the late twentieth century has brought it back into wide use in bakeries and kitchens.

Spelt berries are simmered and used in salads, soups, risotto-style dishes and pilafs. Spelt flour is used for breads, pancakes, pasta, crackers and cakes, and can often replace wheat flour in recipes, though it absorbs liquid differently and should not be overmixed. Flakes are used in porridge and muesli. Spelt is also brewed into some beers and used in certain whiskies and in Grünkern, the green-harvested grain. Cooked berries keep well and freeze nicely.

Spelt is a whole grain with protein, fibre, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, niacin and zinc. It is nutritionally similar to modern wheat, with a slightly higher protein content in some analyses. Whole-grain spelt supplies more fibre than refined flours. It is sometimes said to be easier to digest than modern wheat, but evidence for this is limited. Variation among samples and processing is considerable, and values are comparable to other whole wheats.