A couple of years ago, it was determined that some persistant digestive
problems I had were due to allergies to wheat and corn. When I eliminated
them (and that's not easy!), I improved greatly. Good, but not a happy
situation for a bread lover! I later learned that some people allergic to
wheat can safely eat spelt, and tentatively tried some products, finding
that I could handle them much better than wheat.

I wasn't particularly pleased with any commercial spelt baked good, other
than one decent yeast- and dairy-free white spelt bread, with a sourdough
style. I bought some flour and started to experiment on my own. I learned
that I could handle white spelt, but whole grain gave me similar problems
as wheat, although to a lesser extent.

The problem is, I haven't been able to really bake well with it (not that
I was much of a cook with wheat, either.) Quick breads and drop biscuits
come out quite well, as do shortbread style cookies and usually, scones.
Yeast breads generally fail miserably, way too dense, not rising or
staying "up" properly. Cookies like oatmeal-raisin and chocolate chip rise
in the oven, but collapse before they are finished baking and firm up.
They taste great, but are flat and chewey, even tough, not the style I
intended! In general, I have found that it takes a little more flour or
less liquid, and probably more chemical leavening than AP wheat flour, but
I don't have the bakery experience that some of the folks on here have, to
analyze the problems and work around them.

I'd appreciate any suggestions from the group!

Thanks,

Dave