So like the Jerghoff I am, I drove out 45 minutes to my "L"HBS and since I was having a hard time finding a few other grains (ended up that they just needed to bag more), I absentmindedly picked up only 1 pound of flaked wheat instead of the 4 pounds I needed.
I don't want to go back there for a few dollars worth of grain... that's crazy. So I checked out my local bulk food store, and found that they don't have flaked wheat either. They have hard wheat berries,and cracked wheat, which I believe (though I'm unsure) are hard red wheat, and as I understand it, that's not ideal for a wit. There's also something called bulgur which is basically the cracked wheat, but pre-cooked. There is also unbleached flour, but all the flour here seems to be fortified (e,g, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid).
What caught my eye though was that they also have flaked spelt. It's not "ideal" either, but seems like an interesting option. My understanding is that it's a type of wheat and is fairly similar, although the only description I could find (in Farmhouse Ales) said it a bit sweeter and "nuttier" than your typical wheat.
So I'm wondering if anybody has used Spelt in a Belgian wit, or even if they've used it in place of unmalted wheat in another recipe (or in any recipe, for that matter), and can comment on it. This is actually a brew I'm doing with a friend, and it's mainly for him. If it were all mine, I'd just go ahead and experiment with the spelt. But since it's not, I just want SOME idea of what I'm getting into
I don't want to go back there for a few dollars worth of grain... that's crazy. So I checked out my local bulk food store, and found that they don't have flaked wheat either. They have hard wheat berries,and cracked wheat, which I believe (though I'm unsure) are hard red wheat, and as I understand it, that's not ideal for a wit. There's also something called bulgur which is basically the cracked wheat, but pre-cooked. There is also unbleached flour, but all the flour here seems to be fortified (e,g, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid).
What caught my eye though was that they also have flaked spelt. It's not "ideal" either, but seems like an interesting option. My understanding is that it's a type of wheat and is fairly similar, although the only description I could find (in Farmhouse Ales) said it a bit sweeter and "nuttier" than your typical wheat.
So I'm wondering if anybody has used Spelt in a Belgian wit, or even if they've used it in place of unmalted wheat in another recipe (or in any recipe, for that matter), and can comment on it. This is actually a brew I'm doing with a friend, and it's mainly for him. If it were all mine, I'd just go ahead and experiment with the spelt. But since it's not, I just want SOME idea of what I'm getting into
