BBD #34: Barley Bread

Swathi from Zesty South Indian Kitchen hosts the 34th Bread Baking Day this month. She invites us to bake bread with grains. I've chosen a Barley Bread from Dan Lepard for this event.

Barley and me, that's a special relationship. I've written my Bachelor-Thesis in Food Science about this grain. I pearled and milled hundreds of kilos of this grain and studied its composition. So it was about time to bake a bread with this wonderful grain.

Preparation:

Cook the pearl barley in a sufficient amount of water about 25 minutes. Let them drain and allow to cool.
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Spread the barley flour in a thin layer over a baking tray and bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly coloured.

Stir together the water, leaven, honey, and yeast. Add the cooked pearl barley and stir again. Finally add the toasted barley flour, white flour and salt and knead for 10-12 minutes. Cover the bowl and let rest about 1,5 hours.

Shape the dough on a floured work-surface and place the shaped loaf in a flour-dusted basket (I've dusted it with coarse barley meal), seam-side-upwards. Let it proof for 1,5 hours.

Preheat the oven with a baking stone to 250°C.

Turn the dough sime-side-down, cut it and put it into the oven. Bake the loaf with initial steam about 45 minutes. After 10 Minutes reduce the temperature to 210°C.

Source: Dan Lepard: The handmade loaf

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