Homemade Spelt Bread Rolls

Warning: this post contains some real talk, but is followed by the most amazing bread roll recipe! (And yes, you can skip to that immediately if you want, I won’t judge, there’s a lot to read, I understand)

For the last couple of years, I have been having some issues with my stomach. It was always aching, I was always bloated, and it made me feel like shit. When I ate yogurt or drank chocolate milk, I would be nauseous for the rest of the day, and the aches would worsen. After several visits to the doctor, and several litres of blood taken from me, nothing was found. They gave me some fibers and some scary chemical stuff, which, besides being utterly gross, did not help. Though, I must be honest here, I am not fond of doctors and all that sort of stuff, so I wasn’t really very eager to pursue any further examinations and such.

However, the great and almighty internet has all the answers, or at least the beginnings of some. Though, I would definitely not recommend looking up symptoms, because there is a likely chance that your cold may turn out to be a side effect of something horribly frightening. Anyways, I did type in my symptoms and found loads of helpful stuff, and natural too! My self-diagnosis: Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Yeah, I know, not great talk on a food blog. This means that there are certain ingredients that my body does not like very much.

Knowing this has made me so much more aware of what I put in my mouth and what the consequences of those choices would be. For instance, you’ll probably will not see me eating ice cream or yogurt anytime soon (except for when I’m in Rome in 3 weeks, I will gladly have a stomachache to taste that deliciousness). Anyways, I cannot handle any dairy products at all, except for in low quantities, such as butter on my bread. I have replaced my cow yogurt for soy yogurt. Also, gluten don’t work for me that well so I have switched from wheat bread to spelt bread.

The reason for this talking about myself is to provide you with a delicious and easy recipe for Homemade Spelt Bread Rolls! There’s nothing more satisfying than eating your own bread that you put so much love into. Spelt is great for not only people with IBS, but basically for everyone as it contains many more fibers than traditional wheat. Fibers are essential in a IBS diet, and these come from a natural source too!

All these changes to my diet have not only made me feel a lot better overall, but have strongly diminished my stomachaches and bloating. So, if you recognize yourself in my previous pains, you might have IBS along with several million other people. Go to your doctor, and tell them that you might just have this (I did so too!). If you have any tips on what to eat or not eat with IBS, please let me know! Or if you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask me!

I served my Spelt Bread Rolls with some Hummus and the wonderful Turkish Imam Bayildi. However, it would also be stunning with the Cold Cucumber Soup!

Spelt Bread Rolls

Servings: 6 rolls
Time: 35 minutes
Difficulty: moderate
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Ingredients

2 tsp dried yeast
1 tsp dark brown caster sugar
300 ml (10 fl oz) lukewarm water
450 grams (1lb) spelt flour
1 and 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sesame seeds
Regular flour for dusting
Olive oil for greasing

Used kitchen appliances

Oven
Baking sheet
Small bowl
2 Mixing bowls
Wooden spoon
Tea towel
Wire rack

Preperation

Grease one mixing bowl with oil, as well as the baking sheet.
In the small bowl, add the yeast and sugar. Pour over half of the lukewarm water and leave to rest for about 15 minutes until the yeast mixture becomes frothy.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture, and gradually add the other half of the water. Mix with a wooden spoon until it comes together.
Dust your working space with a bit of flour. Transfer the dough to the working space and lightly knead for about 15 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in the bowl and cover with a dry tea towel. Leave to rest in a warm place for 1.5 hours or until doubled in size.
Knock back the dough by placing it on the dusted working space and slamming your fist into the dough. Knead it for another couple of minutes.
Divide into 6 equal pieces and form them into rolls. Place on the oiled baking sheet, cover with the tea towel and leave to rest for another 30 minutes in a warm place.
Preheat the oven to 200C or 400F.
Brush the rolls with a little bit of water and sprinkle over the sesame seeds.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the rolls sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.