Pan de escanda - traditional spelt flour bread

[Art]

I want to add this message to the bread section, but I'm responding to this message by Paul/Is:
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtop ... =9544#9544

[he was speaking about spelt or escanda] ... Lately I’ve seen this bread retailed as a healthy/organic alternative to loaves made of Triticum aestiva, or regular wheat. I was surprised when I bought escanda bread once and found it was fluffy, pale and sweet. I much prefer rye, like Art…

Here is a brief etymology on ‘spelter’ from Wikipedia:

“.... In Italy both emmer wheat and spelt are known as farro, although emmer is more common in Italy. ...”

I was in Lena recently, thanks to the kindness of Conchita, a member of the forum. One of the things she introduced me to was pan d'escanda. At first I couldn't figure out what grain it was until she mentioned its name in some areas of Spain: "espelta." Ah, spelt!

I believe that Conchita told me that spelt bread was eaten in most of Asturias by the common people. At some point, white bread became the bread eaten by the rich and powerful. So spelt became seen as the bread of the poor.

Spelt bread seems to be made today mixed with wheat flour (more wheat in the cities, less in the mountains). It's not available in every store, but I did find it in a mercado in Pola de Lena and a bread shop in Avilés. The bread is tender and delicious (especially if they don't mix in too much white flour) and lasts a lot longer than the now typical barras of white bread. The loaves I saw were formed in large, rounded or squarish knots.

The escanda or spelt plant has a very pretty seed head with long, sticky "hairs" alongside. It's still grown in the mountain villages of Lena.

When I brought some spelt bread home to my cousin's home in Avilés, it was received with something like disgust or scorn. I think it's seen as unsophisticated and undesirable, something from the rural past -- just like the Asturian language. It struck me that we're not just killing the language, we're killing ourselves by rejecting these healthier foods. And it's primarily for emotional rather than rational reasons that we've rejected both traditions: the language and the foods.

Until I re-read Paul's post above, I didn't realize that the Italians use "farro" for "spelt," too. Farro noodles are very tasty, my favorite of all noodles.

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Quiero añadir este mensaje a la sección sobre pan, pero estoy respondiendo a este mensaje de Paul/Is:
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtop ... =9544#9544

Visité el concejo de Lena recientemente, gracias a la bondad de Conchita, una socia del foro. Una de las cosas que me mostró fue la pan d'escanda. Al principio no supe cual grano es hasta que me mencionó su nombre en algunas zonas de España: "espelta". ¡Ah, "spelt" (escanda)!

Creo que Conchita me dijo que pan de escanda era comido en la mayor parte de Asturias por la gente común. En algún momento, el pan blanco se convirtió en el pan comido por los ricos y poderosos. Así que se convirtió el pan de escanda ser visto como el pan de los pobres.

Pan d'escanda parece ser hecha hoy en día mezclada con la harina de trigo (más de trigo en las ciudades, menos en las montañas). No es disponible en todas las tiendas, pero lo encontré en un mercado en Pola de Lena y una tienda de pan en Avilés. El pan es tierno y delicioso (especialmente si no se mezclan demasiado de harina blanca) y dura mucho más tiempo que las ya típicas barras de pan blanco. Los que he visto se formaron en grandes redondeados o cuadrados nudos.

La planta de escanda o espelta tiene una cabeza de semillas muy bonita con unas largos, pegajosos "pelos" al lado. Todavía se crece en los pueblos montañosos de Lena.

Cuando traje alguno pan d'escanda a la casa de mi primo en Avilés, fue recibido como si sea asqueroso o desprecio. Creo que se ve como poco sofisticado e indeseable, algo del pasado rural -- al igual que la lengua asturiana. No me occurió que no sólo estamos matando el idioma, sino también nos estamos matando a nosotros mismos por el rechazo de estos alimentos más sanos. Y es principalmente para razones emocionales más que racionales que hemos rechazado las dos tradiciones: el idioma y los alimentos.

Hasta que vuelva a leer el mensaje anterior de Paul, no me di cuenta de que los italianos utilizan "farro" para "escanda" también. Fideos de farro (escanda) son muy sabrosos, mis favoritos de todos los fideos.

[Art]

Conchita recommends this detailed article on the history and production of spelt grain and breads made from spelt:
http://viejocubia.grao.net/rev/rv20.htm

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Conchita recomienda este artículo muy detallado sobre la historia y producción de escanda y panes hechos de scanda:
http://viejocubia.grao.net/rev/rv20.htm

[Art]

I tried making spelt or escanda bread this week. I'm not sure which kind of spelt flour we have. I'd guess that isn't whole grain dark spelt flour, but a light spelt flour.

I used a bread machine to mix the ingredients, but stopped it early because I've read that spelt flour can't be kneaded for as long as wheat flour. Then I cut the dough in half, created long "barra" or French loaves. I baked it until the crust was tanned and a sample showed the inside to be just slightly moist or sticky.

1 cup milk (could use water and 3 tbsp dry milk powder)
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp honey
3 cups spelt flour
4 tbsp vital wheat gluten (to make the bread rise better and have a better texture)
1 tsp salt
2-3 tsp active dry yeast
optional: 2 tbsp bulgar or other whole grain for a little texture

I think it tastes good has a good texture. My wife thinks that the bread has a dusty quality.