SPELT - what is it and why eat it?

Spelt or hulled wheat (Triticum spelta) is often referred to as the ancient wheat, but spelt is actually not that ancient and is related to common unhulled bread wheat (Triticum sativum).

Spelt is two genetic transformations removed from the truly ancient Einkorn wheat. Twice, spontaneous crosses between other grass species and the Einkorn wheat introduced new genetic material into wheat, each time increasing the number of chromosomes and the amount of genetic material. Spelt was the result of the second crossing.

It is classified as hulled wheat because of the thick hull that encapsulates and protects the seed. The seed can be released by pounding on the hull. This hull and its disappearance is the key to the emergence of modern bread wheats. This transformative event could have occurred very quickly via a simple genetic mutation. The result was a seed freed from its hull. For the next 5,000 years or so, these two classes of wheats survived. In fact, spelt was still widely planted in the United States and Europe until the early 1900’s.

The industrial revolution favoured unhulled wheat because it was easier to work with and produced a fluffier bread because of its balance of the proteins gliadin and glutenin (these influence elasticity and extensibility of the bread).

Plant breeders did not look to spelt to perfect the mix of gliadin and glutenin. They were satisfied with modern wheat’s existing fine balance. Spelt already had one strike against it because its hull required additional milling.

Wheat breeders successfully teased new varieties out of modern genetic material, and these varieties exhibited even better baking characteristics despite the punishing treatment that doughs received in the mechanized bakeries that became the main source of bread around the world.

However, these new varieties of wheat developed over the last 50-100 years are the cause of many wheat allergies or intolerances that appear to be on the rise. This is possibly because humans have not had time to adapt to these new varieties. It is therefore not surprising that people with wheat intolerances find that they can tolerate the more ancient spelt, which fortunately for them, has not been altered by plant breeders.

Spelt does contain gluten but studies have shown that it can be tolerated by many people who are normally gluten-intolerant. This could be because the larger quantities of available protein found in spelt are soluble and, therefore, can be easily assimilated by the body with the minimum of digestive work. Results of allergy testing in both the US and the UK has also shown that when many wheat sensitive individuals are exposed to both wheat and spelt the majority react negatively to the wheat sample only. However,it must be stressed that the Coeliac Society in Australia does not include spelt on its list of approved foods and people with this condition should not eat it. Also, people with fructose malabsorption (e.g commonly seen in Irritable Bowel Syndrome) should also avoid it.

Spelt contains more protein, fats, B vitamins and crude fibre than wheat. It also contains special carbohydrates (mucopolysaccharides),which play a role in blood clotting and stimulate the body's immune system so as to increase its resistance to infection. Whole grain spelt is not only sweeter in flavor but more gentle to digest. The total protein content of spelt varies from 13.1 - 14.28% depending on climate and soil conditions. It is higher than soft wheat (10.5%) and spring wheat (9.1%) but similar to durum wheat (13.8%). The sequence of amino acids also differs between spelt and wheat, spelt containg more cystine, isoleucine, leucine, methionine and neurotransmitters, phenylalanine and tryptophan.