Spelt, rye, and other alternatives to white flour are (almost) as common in bakeries these days as chocolate chips and frosting. At Tandem Bakery in Portland, Maine, pastry genius Briana Holt bakes shortbread cookies with dark rye flour, frangipane tarts with nutty, tangy buckwheat flour, and even gives that most classic summer dessert—the fruit crisp—a twist by incorporating spelt and quinoa flours with oats into the crumble topping. Alternative flours “have a sweet, nutty, more complex flavor that you don’t get out of regular white flour,” says Holt—“especially if they’re milled fresh.” Tandem orders its flours from Maine Grains, a mill in Skowhegan, but Holt recommends seeking out a local miller or ordering online from companies like Carolina Ground.
Holt gave us her recipe for plum-rosemary crisps with an oat-spelt topping. To make sure yours are just as stellar as hers, here are three of her tips for nailing this flavorful dessert:
Give It Time to Dry
“Anytime I make a crumble or crisp, I let the topping sit out to dry for 10–15 minutes: This helps it hold its shape better in the oven.”
Make Sure It Sticks
“If you pick up a handful of the crumble topping and squeeze it together in your palm, it should stick together like a little ball.”
Vary the Texture
“Making a crumble is like making granola: You want it to be clumpy in some spots—it’s fun to eat that way. I don’t want it to be sandy; I want it to be sandy chunks, so that when you put it on top of the fruit, it has a crumbly texture with bigger and smaller bits.”
Get the Recipe: Plum-Rosemary Tarts with Oat-Spelt Topping