Savoring the Essence of Spelt in Muffins

I wanted to make something simple to thoroughly savor the tast of spelt, so I used the incredibly simple recipe on the back of the Red Mill Spelt Flour package. I was pleased! The muffins were filling with a rich, wheaty taste. OK, I know that is not profound, but I can't find the appropriate words for the flavor. It is sort of like whole wheat bread that we buy in bakeries, but with a stronger wheaty flavor. Let me know if you can think of a better way to describe it.



Basically, all I needed was (some of this differs from the recipe on the package):
2 1/4 cups spelt flour
1/4 cup of agave syrup (brown sugar or honey will be good substitutes, because the purpose of this ingredient is sweetness)
1 tablespoon of baking powder
small amount of salt
1 1/4 cup milk
3 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon of oil (I used regular vegetable oil...nothing fancy.)

I preheated the oven to 425 and greased and floured a 12-muffin pan. I mixed the dry ingredients in one bowl. Then I beat together the syrup, milk, eggs, and oil. I then mixed this beaten mixture with the dry ingredients and filled the muffin cups 2/3 full. I baked them for about 17 minutes.

The aroma made everyone hungry as it spread throughout the house. My elderly parents tried them politely, but did not particularly like them...although I enjoyed them for breakfast on my way to work. They could carry me throughout an entire morning with energy to spare. I think these are great to try, but the spelt flour is more expensive than regular whole wheat flour, so I might not make these on a regular basis.

It was great to try though, because it connected me with my ancient ancestors. I have access to a lot more ingredients to mix with the spelt, and my level of effort was not as great in making something edible from this grain. But I do have immense respect for spelt, and ancient grain that changed civilization and provided the first food given freely by the government to people who need it in the Roman Empire.