Spelt Flour Kulchas with an Autumn Touch
Today’s recipe, Spelt Flour Kulchas with an Autumn Touch, is a twist on the original kulcha recipe. While kulchas are normally made with refined wheat flour, in my recipe, I have used a combination of whole Spelt flour and refined wheat flour. In addition, I have used fresh seasonal pumpkin and dried pumpkin seeds to align with the season, i.e., Autumn, and eat fresh, healthy, local and seasonal food.
These kulchas are soft and flavourful and pair perfectly with Indian gravy dishes like Chole Masala, Paneer Makhni, etc. When I made them, I served them with a simple home-style chickpea gravy and salad.
Before I start with the recipe, let me explain to my readers what Kulcha is. Kulcha is an Indian bread commonly made in the northern parts of the country. It is flat-leavened, similar to pita bread. Matke Wale Kulche, which is a common street food in North India, is basically kulcha served with white chickpeas. These chickpeas are tangy and spicy and taste perfect with kulchas. You can check my recipe for soft, pillowy kulchas. It’s my tried and tested recipe, and I use it quite often.
Let’s start with the recipe for Spelt Flour Kulchas with an Autumn Touch. At the end of the recipe, I have shared information about ingredient sourcing in Germany.
Equipment Needed
- Mixing bowl
- Oven and Baking Tray
- Rolling pin and board
- Grater
- Knives and Cutting Board
Read about all the equipment I use in my Indian kitchen in Germany here.
Ingredients for Spelt Flour Kulchas
- 200 gm All Purpose Flour
- 300 gm Whole Spelt Flour
- 200 gm Grated Pumpkin
- 3 tbsp Kasuri Methi
- 200 gm Greek Yoghurt
- 7 gm Instant dry yeast
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- Water; as required to knead the dough
- 1 Handful of Pumpkin Seeds
Method to make Spelt Flour Kulchas
- In a small bowl, mix yeast and sugar in about 1/2 cup of water. Let it rest till the yeast starts bubbling.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine spelt flour, refined wheat flour and salt.
- Add grated pumpkin and kasuri methi. Mix everything.
- Add the sugar and yeast mixture.
- Add yoghurt.
- Mix everything. Add water, as needed, to knead a semi-soft dough.
- Cover and rest it till it doubles in size.
- Now, knead it once more.
- Divide the dough into 18 equal portions. Roll them with a rolling pin to a circle about 10 cm in diameter. This way, roll all the portions and place them on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet.
- Brush water on the surface of each kulcha and sprinkle some crushed pumpkin seeds.
- Now, let them rest in a warm place until they rise. This could take about 30-40 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C for 10 minutes. Place the baking trays and bake the kulchas for 10 minutes.
- Once baked, remove them from the oven and brush some ghee/butter. Kulchas are ready to be served.
- If you wish to store the kulchas, let them cool completely. Then, transfer them to a bread box and keep them at room temperature if you want to consume them on the same day. Else, keep the bread box in the fridge.
Some Notes about Ingredient Sourcing in Germany
- All Purpose Flour: This is Weizenmehl Typ 405. It is available in supermarkets.
- Whole Spelt Flour: This is Vollkorn Dinkelmehl. It is available in supermarkets.
- Pumpkin: I used Hokkaido Pumpkin. Starting from autumn, these are available in supermarkets.
- Kasuri Methi: You can buy it from Indian shops.
- Greek Yoghurt: Use Greek Yoghurt with 10% Fat. It is called Grieschische Joghurt. It is available in supermarkets.
- Instant dry yeast: This is called Trockene Hefe. It is available in small sachets of 7gm. I used one sachet. It is available in supermarkets.
- Sugar: Called Zucker in German. Refined sugar, called Raffinade Zucker, is available in supermarkets. Learn more about sugar varieties in Germany here.
- Salt: Called Salz in German. Learn more about salt varieties in Germany here.
- Pumpkin Seeds: Called Kurbiskerne in German. It is available in supermarkets.
Here is the recipe in printable format:
Spelt Flour Kulcha with an autumn touch
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Oven and Baking Tray
- Rolling pin and board
- Grater
- Knives and Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 200 gm All Purpose Flour
- 300 gm Whole Spelt Flour
- 200 gm Grated Pumpkin
- 3 tbsp Kasuri Methi
- 200 gm Greek Yoghurt
- 7 gm Instant dry yeast
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- Water; as required to knead the dough
- 1 Handful Pumpkin Seeds
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix yeast and sugar in about 1/2 cup of water. Let it rest till the yeast starts bubbling.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine spelt flour, refined wheat flour and salt.
- Add grated pumpkin and kasuri methi. Mix everything.
- Add the sugar and yeast mixture.
- Add yoghurt.
- Mix everything. Add water, as needed, to knead a semi-soft dough.
- Cover and rest it till it doubles in size.
- Now, knead it once more.
- Divide the dough into 18 equal portions.
- Roll them with a rolling pin to a circle about 10 cm in diameter.
- This way, roll all the portions and place them on a baking tray lined with a baking sheet.
- Brush water on the surface of each kulcha and sprinkle some crushed pumpkin seeds.
- Now, let them rest in a warm place until they rise. This could take about 30-40 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C for 10 minutes.
- Place the baking trays and bake the kulchas for 10 minutes.
- Once baked, remove them from the oven and brush some ghee/butter.
- Kulchas are ready to be served.
- If you wish to store the kulchas, let them cool completely. Then, transfer them to a bread box and keep them at room temperature if you want to consume them on the same day. Else, keep the bread box in the fridge.
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