Crusty Spelt Rolls (Vegan)

This post today is part of a series of 3 as a suggested Mother’s Day Menu that we are sure any vegan mum will love. These spelt rolls are a great addition to any meal and if you want to make a bigger batch they will keep well in the freezer.

Before we get to the recipe I thought I would tell you about Be:Fit London as I was really excited about it and it was the reason you didn’t get this post yesterday. (I am aware I have skipped my Weekly Round up.) Well I have to tell you it was a massive disappointment.

Having attended this show from the days it was at London Olympia, on to Earl’s Court and this year to Old Billingsgate I have to say this was easily the worst year. The venue was actually lovely and it was excellent to be on the Thames but it was once you got inside there was a problem.

There was at most half the number of exhibitors as last year and that meant they had lost a lot of really great elements to the show. Firstly there was hardly any skincare brands there which is annoying as I had been planning to stock up on the Lavera Skincare that I use or get something similar, no such luck.

Then there was no nail bar or anything like that which had enhanced previous shows. It seemed poorly thought out and just totally basis. It pretty much just consisted of health food brands, most of which I already know and sportswear. Even on the food there was less than previous years and a real lack of variety, for example there were 3 or 4 different stands that did coconut water. Is there really that much demand?

All in all it was a very poor show and so gutting as I always book up well in advance and look forward to it for months. I will need to think carefully about next year and whether it is worth attending at all. I think The Telegraph who took over the show this year have done it so much damage it might not recover.

Now on to the recipe. These little rolls had a really crusty outside and a soft middle making them a great accompaniment to any soup or any dish that has a lot of sauce. For my Mother’s Day menu I have put them together with Mushrooms Mariniere a la Creme for something a little bit decadent.

Crusty Spelt Rolls

Makes 6

Prep Time: At least 2 hours

Cook Time: 15-20 mins

Ingredients

330g Wholegrain Spelt Flour

2 tsp Dried Yeast

200ml Warm Water

1/4 tsp Salt

1 tbs Olive Oil (mild)

Instructions

1. Combine the yeast and warm water in a bowl, mix well and leave for about 10 minutes. (to make the warm water combine about 75ml from the kettle with 125ml of cold water.)

2. Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl and then make a well in the middle and pour in the wet ingredients and mix well. Once everything has come together turn out onto a floured surface and knead until you have a springy dough. Depending on your conditions this can take anywhere from 2-15 minutes, it took me about 5 minutes.

3. Put you dough in a bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave in a reasonable warm place, like near the oven for about 45-90mins so that the dough can double in size.

4. Remove dough from bowl and knock back, kneading it for about 1 minute then put back in bowl, cover and leave to double in size again.

5. Place baking stone in oven or if you do not have one a baking tray and preheat oven to 250C/480F/Gas Mark 10 or max temperature.

6. Divide dough into 6 equal parts and work each one into a ball. Place each one on a floured surface near oven and cover, leave to double in size.

7. Once dough is ready take a sharp knife and cut a small slit across the top of each roll and quickly transfer them to your baking stone/tray and close the oven.

8. After about 10 minutes reduce the heat of your oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and leave rolls for about another 5-10 minutes or until the rolls have browned.

9. Remove rolls from oven and set aside for 10 minutes before serving warm or allow to cool completely if you want.