Spelt and Apple Muffins (Provided photo — Yvona Fast)

What is spelt?

Triticum spelta is an heirloom variety of emmer wheat that has been cultivated in the Mediterranean region for thousands of years. Spelt has been ground into flour for making bread since biblical times. It is mentioned in Exodus 9:32, Isaiah 28:25 and Ezekiel 4:9.

Unlike modern hybridized wheat varieties, spelt kernels have a tough outer husk. This tough shell is removed just before the grain is milled into flour, so it keeps the product fresh. It also protects the grain from disease-carrying insects, eliminating the need for pesticides.

It is more water-soluble than other wheat varieties, so our bodies can absorb its nutrients more readily. It also softens quickly; if you put spelt kernels in your mouth, they soften almost immediately from the moisture of your saliva. In contrast, other wheat varieties will stay hard in your mouth.

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Is it healthy?

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Spelt is easier to digest and more nutritious than modern wheat. It contains less gluten than modern wheat and has a nuttier flavor. The gluten in spelt has a different composition than modern wheat, which makes it easier to digest. However, people with celiac disease should stay away from all gluten. Nutritionally similar to wheat, it contains more protein and more zinc, but also slightly more fat than wheat. Like other whole grains, spelt is a good source of fiber and contains vitamins B1, B6 and E, as well as small amounts of calcium and selenium.

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How is it used?

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Spelt’s sweet, nutty flavor gives great taste to your baked goods. You can cook spelt grains to use in salads, soups or casseroles. Prepare it like risotto by toasting the grain first in a dry pan, then adding stock a little at a time, and simmering until completely cooked. Uunlike farro, which is mostly served as a cooked grain, spelt is primarily used in baking.

Products made with spelt, like pasta, cereals, crackers and baked goods, are becoming more common. Refined spelt flour, whole spelt flour and spelt grains can be purchased in health food stores and many supermarkets. Refined spelt flour is best for cookies and cakes, while whole spelt flour makes a nutty, coarse bread loaf. I have purchased spelt bread from Green Jade bakers at our Saranac Lake Farmers’ Market.

Spelt is often used for pasta. Spelt pasta is less grainy and holds sauces better than whole-wheat pasta.

When making spelt bread, substitute the flour cup-for-cup in a recipe, but reduce the liquid by one-fourth and cut the mixing or kneading time in half.

Aren’t quite ready to try bread-baking? Here are two recipes — for muffins and cookies — both made with whole-grain spelt flour.

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Spelt and Apple Muffins

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A delicious, healthy snack or breakfast.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil (can also use melted butter or coconut oil)

1/3 cup maple syrup or honey

2/3 cup apple juice

1 cup plain or maple-flavored yogurt

2 cups whole-grain spelt flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 or 2 apples (about 2 1/2 cups, finely chopped)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with baking spray or line with paper muffin liners.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until light and lemon-colored. Beat in the oil, maple syrup, apple juice and yogurt. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine flour with baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Core apples (no need to peel) and dice fine. You should have 2 or 2 1/2 cups.

Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stir in the chopped apples.

Fill muffin tins.

Place in the oven at 425 degrees. Set the time for 5 minutes, then lower the heat to 350. Bake 15 – 20 minutes longer.

Remove from oven. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tins onto a wire rack or platter.

Yield: one dozen muffins.

Option: Substitute 2 cups shredded carrots or 2 cups blueberries for the apples.

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Oatmeal-Spelt Cookies

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Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups spelt flour

2 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, at room temperature

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup melted butter (or cooking oil, or olive oil, or coconut oil)

2/3 cup brown sugar (or coconut sugar)

3/4 cup raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In a small bowl, combine spelt flour with baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir in the oats. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, beat eggs with maple syrup. Beat in melted butter and brown sugar.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet. Then stir in the raisins.

Scoop with a tablespoon and place on cookie sheets 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake 6 to 8 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

Yield: 4 dozen small cookies or 2 dozen large cookies.

Option: Substitute chopped walnuts, chocolate chips, craisins, blueberries or red currants for the raisins.

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Author of the award-winning cookbook “Garden Gourmet: Fresh & Fabulous Meals from your Garden, CSA or Farmers’ Market,” Yvona Fast lives in Lake Clear and has two passions: cooking and writing. She can be found at www.yvonafast.com and reached at yvonawrite@yahoo.com or on Facebook at Words Are My World.