Dough & handling
Adapt your handling to a new flour
My spelt dough spreads: does it need more kneading?
Test a new flour in a small control formula before changing all production.
Understand the process
Protein percentage alone does not describe strength and extensibility. Variety, milling and batch characteristics matter. Einkorn, spelt and strong wheat are not technically interchangeable.
Spreading may reflect too much water for the batch, aggressive work, advanced fermentation or insufficient initial structure. Start by identifying when the dough loses strength.
Step by step
- Replace only part of the control flour and record the batch.
- Observe after hydration before judging the water quantity.
- Handle gently and record temperature.
- Determine whether weakening begins during mixing or only in fermentation.
- At the next bake adjust one variable: flour proportion, water or work.
What to record
- Replacement percentage and batch identity
- When structure deteriorates
- Shaping ease and loaf height
PROPOSED EXERCISE · VALIDATE IN YOUR CONDITIONS
One trial, one variable
Usual recipe.
Same recipe with a defined partial substitution.
Keep comparable
Weights, temperature and process: no other change for this first diagnosis.
What to look for
Identify what changes before optimising.
Record unexpected differences, then repeat before adopting a change.
Mistakes to avoid
- Treating all heritage grains as identical.
- Adding water and extending kneading in the same trial.
Conditions of use
The substitution percentage is an experimental hypothesis. No nutritional or glycaemic-index benefit is promised.