May 30, 2010 - 4:52pm
Question on ingredient: sprouted barley
The list of breads for June in the Mellow Baker's challenge includes Hamelman's Beer Bread with Roasted Barley
I heard that even if you manage to find barley, sprouting it is tricky - I doubt I'll be able to find it.
Any suggestions? Are there online sources for sprouted barley or a substitute?
thanks!
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Actually, sprouting grains is not difficult. It just takes some time. Usually, you can find some organic barley at your local co-op. Soak it overnight in cold water. The next morning, put the barley in a colander or between moist paper towels. In a few days, it will be ready. Generally you want sprouts that are 75-100% of the length of the grain.
Dan Lepard has instructions in 'The Handmade Loaf' for sprouting barley and making malt.
Unfortunately my copy is out on loan, but someone else with the book could copy the instructions for you.
Bob's Red Mill has lovely hulless barley for sale - I'm on on a run of adding up to 20% fresh milled barley to my multigrain loaves. It makes a really crisp crust, a very moist crumb and I love the taste.
Patsy
I have the book!
Silly me.... I will check it out.
ok, but let me make sure I get this right: I can order straight from Bob's Red Mill something called "hulless barley" and that is what I need? I mean, I buy the hullless barley and use the sprouting instructions from Lepard?
Ok, me again
I found the instructions in Lepard's book - he doesn't sprout the grain, he does the malting by soaking in water, drying and then low roasting (at 50 Celsius) - in my lab we do have an oven that is kept at exactly 50 C all the time, and I could use it for this without any problem
However, the roasted barley used in the bread calls for the sprouted grain - I think I'll use Lepard's method instead - you guys think it could work ok?
Sally - check out this forum: Mini has the answer Mini did the sprouting on her own, she even had pictures about it. It worked for her.
I've tried myself - without much success as weather is getting warm and I think I still can't get the right ingredients to do the sprouting. Good Luck!
Very cool stuff!!!!!
Thanks!
I will see if I can find the grain and try it....
I'll be reporting back - probably mid-June
Thanks again, you guys are great!
Sally,
You can buy malted barley at any home brew supply shop, and there are dozens online too. If there is a brew pub near your home, or a microbrewery, stop by. I'd bet a six pack they'd give you the little bit you need for the recipe. (I just checked it.)
If you go this route, I recommend either pale ale malt or pilsner malt. Get it with the hulls intact, roast it, then chop it. Run it through your mill if you have one, or chop it fine in a food processor or blender. Don't skip the roasting. Hamelman points out the importance of roasting to denature the amylase enzymes present in the barley, as well as to enhance the barley's flavor contribution.
I make bread with spent grain, the residue from when I brew beer. I freeze it still wet from the mash, and add it as a soaker.
I've never made Hamelman's beer bread, I think I'll give it a try.
Good Luck.
David G
The main reason barley is malted is to release two enzymes, alpha-amylase and beta-amylase. Beta-amylase is present, but inactive in barley grains before germination, and alpha-amylase only appears during germination. Both enzymes are catalysts that speed the conversion of starch to sugar. The sugar is the food the seed's embryo consumes until it can make its own food by photosynthesis. Malting stops the seed's growth by removing the water, leaving behind the two activated enzymes. Both enzymes do the basically the same thing--the details reveal slight differences. Alpha-amylase acts faster, and is more abundant than beta-amylase in barley.
Wheat also contains alpha-amylase, but in smaller amounts. Millers add alpha-amylase to ensure an amount adequate to convert flour starches to sugars providing food to the yeast (and bacteria). (Most millers add alpha-amylase extracted from fungas, rather than barley--it's less expensive, and denatures at temperatures lower than does barley malt amylase.)
Brewer's rely on amylases to convert the barley's starch to sugar, and beer yeast to convert the sugar to alcohol. Consequently, brewers try to convert, as much as possible, all the grain's starches to sugar.
Baker's however, only want to convert enough of the flour's starches to sugars so that the yeast inflates the dough with gas, leaving most of the starch to gelatinize converting the dough to bread. And, of course, sugar also feeds the bacteria in sourdough, who convert it to acids which contribute to the breads flavor. However, too much amylase in bread flour is not a good thing: sticky dough, and a weak gluten network result.
Back to Hamelman's Beer Bread with Roasted Barley. My edition of Bread doesn't mention sprouting the barley; it does call for Malted Barley. I assume this is because Malted Barley contributes more flavor than un-malted Barley, because he warns that the enzymes present in the Malted Barley must be denatured by roasting, to avoid complications during the dough's fermentation.
David G
with a beer, wine and distilery worker/maker for many years, the malting is the sprouting of the grain, and then drying it. You don't get the amalase without the sprouting process happening.
By the way scotch is made with sprouted barley, which is dried using peat smoke which is what gives the malt liqour (scotch) its distinctive smoky flavour. Best scotch is single malt or made from a single batch of malted barley, most cheaper scotches are made with blends or are therefore non single malts.
My brother rescearched the whole process at great lengths. And while I agree that most brew houses should have malted barley to hand, mine doesn't not in cans as syrup, or in grains. I know I've asked. I do know there are couple of cans around here somewhere, just haven't found them yet!
Hi Carilee,
You can purchase organic, unmalted flour. Arrowhead Mills is one brand which is readily available at most organic/food coop stores.
The malt does add enzymes which digest starch into sugar.
Conveniently, Susan of WildYeast just blogged about malt powder and the information there may answer some of your questions.
Hope this helps - and welcome to TFL!
Sprouting wheat is super easy. Just soak it for 12-24 hours and then drain. Rinse it 2-3 times per day and keep in a jar or container with a breathable lid. Should sprout in a day or two. Then dry it in the oven and grind into flour.
The thing with sprouting barley (as I recently discovered erroneously) is that the barley has to have the hull intact in order to sprout. I myself have had a difficult time finding hull-on barley in my area. All barley sold in bulk at grocery/health food stores is hulled and pearled.