Spelt flour originated from Europe, where the grain was initially grown. Later, it spread throughout the world, serving numerous purposes, including thickening soups and making cakes, bread, cookies, pasta, and biscuits.
While spelt is a better option for people looking to reduce gluten intake, it’s worth noting that it’s not gluten-free. It only has a weaker gluten structure.
If you don’t want gluten in your dish or have run out of spelt flour, here are 15 spelt flour substitutes you can choose from.
Table Of Contents
What Can I Substitute for Spelt Flour
1. Einkorn Flour
Einkorn flour is made from farro, one of the three types of hulled wheat.
The flour is possibly the best substitute for spelt flour. It’s rich in nutrients and has a sweeter and nuttier flavor than the normal flour (wheat).
You can add einkorn flour to salads and soups or cook and eat it plain. Use it in baked goods is also a good idea.
Use the same amount of einkorn flour as you would with spelt, but reduce the water to about one-third. Einkorn flour is less absorbent than spelt flour.
2. Amaranth Flour
Amaranth flour is another excellent spelt flour replacement. It’s made from ground seeds, whose source is amaranth grain.
The flour has a crispy texture, a slightly sweet and spicy flavor, and is gluten-free. Mixing it with almond or wheat flour in the ratio of 1:3 will improve the texture and make it easier to knead.
Most chefs use amaranth flour for baking, and thickening soups, sauces, and gravies. It’s rich in fiber, iron, and proteins and is the best gluten-free spelt flour substitute.
3. Emmer Flour
Emmer flour is a suitable spelt flour replacement that you can use to make cookies, bread, and cakes.
A lot of people even use it to produce beer. In addition, whole emmer grains are suitable for use in soups, and you can cook them like rice.
Its content and flavor are similar to spelt and einkorn flour. Still, it’s not gluten-free. So, if you’re allergic to gluten, avoid it.
4. Rice Flour
If you’re looking for an affordable spelt flour substitute, rice flour is great. It’s made from ground white or brown rice, though the latter has more nutritional value and fiber than the former.
While both feature a light nutty flavor, it’s more felt in brown rice but is milder in white rice. It’s a good idea to use rice flour for baked products and thickening soups and stews.
Since it’s gluten-free, you can mix it with other types of flour when making your bread.
Because of rice flour is denser than spelt flour, you’ll have to reduce it by about 2/3 if you use it as a spelt flour substitute in your recipe.
5. Kamut Flour
Kamut flour, also known as Khorasan wheat, is an excellent white spelt flour substitute. Its grains are bigger than those of ordinary wheat and feature a nutty flavor.
You can use the flour in cereals, bread, pasta, cookies, among other baked goods, and beer. The flour is rich in zinc, fiber, magnesium, selenium, gluten, iron, among other minerals and vitamins.
While you’ll need the same amount of Kamut flour as with spelt flour, you need to add a bit more water as it’s less absorbent than spelt flour.
6. Oat Flour
Oat flour is a great spelt flour replacement. It’s rich in proteins, minerals, fiber, and vitamins and is derived from ground whole oats.
If you have high cholesterol, it has beta-glucan, an important fiber known to promote heart health and lower cholesterol.
Oat flour has a mild, nutty, and sweet flavor and is suitable for baking and making granola and muesli bars. The good news is that it’s gluten-free.
7. Barley Flour
Barley flour source is ground barley. It’s very easy for you to find this excellent substitution in either coarse or fine form. It’s rich in minerals and vitamins, promoting good health.
Barley flour features a tender texture and a stronger nutty and sweet flavor. You can use it for your baking needs to make pancakes, muffins, bread, and biscuits.
For a better texture, mix barley flour with some wheat flour. Don’t worry because it has a very low gluten content.
It’s twice denser than spelt flour, so you may have to halve the amount you use in your recipe as spelt flour substitute.
8. Buckwheat Flour
Buckwheat flour is another gluten-free spelt flour substitute. The flour is made from ground buckwheat seeds, which are pseudo-cereals.
It has high amounts of minerals, fiber, protein, and vitamins.
This flour is usually used to produce noodles and make cookies, bread, pancakes, and muffins. Its flavor is slightly bitter though it has a unique earthy-nutty taste.
9. Quinoa Flour
Quinoa flour is another excellent alternative to spelt flour, made from quinoa seeds. It’s richer in dietary fiber, vitamins, protein, and minerals than most other grains.
The flour has a slightly bitter-nutty and grassy flavor. To minimize this flavor, toast the flour before using it in bread, pies, cookies, muffins, among other baked products.
Quinoa flour is gluten-free.
10. Whole-Wheat Flour
Whole wheat flour is made from ground wheat. It’s richer in minerals, vitamins, fiber, and proteins than wheat flour.
It’s a perfect spelt flour replecement that you can use for baked goods. It gives the products a beautiful brown color, a hard texture, and a nutty flavor.
For better nutrient content and consistency, just mix whole-wheat flour with other white flour.
11. All-Purpose (Regular) Flour
In recent times, people are substituting spelt flour with regular flour. The great news is that it still works spectacularly for most recipes.
Regular flour comes from wheat kernels and contains lesser nutrients and protein than spelt flour.
Try it in a ratio of 1:1, and it’ll work well, though not for all recipes.
12. Coconut Flour
Coconut flour is a suitable spelt flour substitution that’s gluten-free and rich in protein and fiber. It comes in handy in thickening recipes and adding flavor to baked goods.
Coconut flour is produced from ground coconut meat. But unlike most other gluten-free flours, it absorbs a lot of water. In addition, it’s a bit expensive.
13. Almond Flour
“Can I substitute almond flour for spelt flour?” – Of course your can!
Almond flour is a wonderful spelt flour sub that’s great for nut-allergic or sensitive people.
It makes your baked products healthy with its high content of minerals, vitamins, and proteins.
Using almond flour will give your dough a tender texture that you can never get from other subs.
Additionally, it’s a good absorbent and gives you crispy baked goods. However, it’s also a bit costly.
Almond flour can also be a good substitute for semolina flour
14. Tapioca Flour
Tapioca flour is a strong spelt flour replacement that’s a common thickening agent in baking and cooking.
It’s easy to work with due to its ability to absorb fats and liquids without altering the texture and taste of your bread, biscuits, and other baked goods.
15. Potato Flour
Potato flour is one of the substitutes for malt powder, but it can also be a great alternative to spelt flour.
It has a much lower nutritional value than almost all the other subs. But it’s vegan-friendly and gluten-free.
Potato flour is cheap and easy to work with. You can use it together with other gluten-free flours to increase its nutritional value. And if you mix them well, you’ll get the texture of spelt flour.
Mind you; this will not compromise the taste or flavor of your baked goods.
FAQs About Spelt Flour
Is there any gluten-free substitute for spelt flour?
Some people with gluten sensitivities or allergies can’t tolerate any flour containing wheat, rye, barley, and its derivatives such as malt.
If you’re one of them, try the following gluten-free substitute for spelt flour:
- Amaranth Flour
- Rice Flour
- Oat Flour
- Buckwheat Flour
- Quinoa Flour
- Coconut Flour
- Potato Flour
- Barley Flour (very low in gluten)
What can I substitute for spelt flour in baking?
If you need a substitute for spelt flour in baking, here are some easy options.
- Amaranth Flour
- Rice Flour
- Kamut Flour
- Oat Flou
- Barley Flour
- Quinoa Flour
- Whole-Wheat Flour
- Coconut Flour
- Almond Flour
- Tapioca Flour
- Potato Flour
How to substitute spelt flour for all-purpose flour?
If you are looking for a way to substitute spelt flour for all-purpose flour, then look no further.
Here are some tips that will show you how easy it is to use one in place of the other.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are several spelt flour substitutes. And while some contain some gluten, others are gluten-free.
Therefore, always remember to add some baking powder to get excellently-risen baked goods with a tender texture.
Einkorn flour wouldn’t be gluten free though. Farro isn’t gluten free.
Einkorn flour is a light gluten option.
I believe what Tyla was trying to say is that even light gluten is too much for some of us. Some of us are gluten free because we have to be not because it’s the newest fad diet. Thank you for this list, I can use the almond flour as a substitute.