spelt clarification

[Guest guest]

I have a question for the grain experts here. On page 55 of the

current issue of Wise Traditions, in the recipe for Mother 's

Pie Crust, it says " Feel free to alter the type of flour, but be aware

that low-gluten flours like spelt will not make a good pie crust

and that the flour you choose will completely dictate the amount

of water needed. "

I was under the impression that spelt was not low-gluten.

Gluten is grain protein, correct? And a nutritional analysis of

spelt shows it to have the same amount of protein as hard

(high-protein) red wheat. In baking with spelt, I find it to behave

much more like hard wheat than like (low-protein) soft wheat, but

to have a finer texture and a milder, more pleasant taste. I

believe it absorbs less liquid than hard wheat, so often a little bit

more spelt has to be used than if you were using wheat, but it

rises well and the gluten develops well when kneaded for bread

(I've never made a pie crust with it, I almost never make pie

crusts with flour at all).

So, is spelt low-gluten or not? I believe one of you here said that

it has less gliadin than regular wheat, but that's just one

component of the gluten protein, right? We in my family don't

seem to have any problems with gluten in properly-treated

grains, and I'm not making any particular effort to avoid it, but I

was confused by the statement in the magazine.

Aubin