Spelt

Spelt (Triticum spelta) is a hulled species of wheat: after threshing the grain stays in its husk and has to be dehulled before milling. In German it is called Dinkel, in Italian farro spelta, in Polish orkisz.

Spelt was a staple grain of Central Europe for centuries and is still grown mainly in southern Germany, Switzerland and Austria. It copes with poorer soils and cool weather and usually needs less fertiliser, which is why much of it is sold as organic.

For pasta, dehulled spelt is milled into semolina (Dinkelgrieß), white flour or wholegrain flour and mixed only with water, sometimes with eggs. Raw spelt contains about 14.6 g of protein and about 10.7 g of fibre per 100 g (USDA FoodData Central). Its gluten is softer and more extensible than that of durum wheat, so spelt pasta is more delicate and should not be overcooked.

Typical spelt pasta ranges include Bernbacher Dinkel and Bernbacher Bio Dinkel from Bavaria, Recheis Dinkel from Tyrol (with 10% free-range eggs), ALB-GOLD Bio Dinkel Pasta, and Tress Bio Dinkel and Tress Original Dinkel Vollkorn from the Swabian Alb. In Poland, Lubella Orkisz & Durum combines 72% spelt flour with durum wheat semolina.

Spelt is not a gluten-free grain. In the EU it is named explicitly among the cereals containing gluten that must be highlighted on labels: "wheat (such as spelt and khorasan wheat)" (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex II). People with coeliac disease must avoid it.