The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Recipe calls for Barley Grains?

Patti Y's picture
Patti Y

Recipe calls for Barley Grains?

Norwegian Barley Bread recipe- says to soak barley grains overnight before adding to poolish.

Does that mean the whole grain with the husk??

Or does it mean hulled barley or pearl barley???

I know that hulled barley is more nutritious than pearl barley.

Thanks.

pmccool's picture
pmccool

but my personal preference would be for hulled barley over pearled barley.  Better nutritionally, as you mention, and more flavorful. 

Paul

Patti Y's picture
Patti Y

Thanks. I will have to order barley grains or hulled barley online. I can only find processed pearl barley locally. If I used hulled barley, would I crush it in the food processor or leave it whole? 

This is all the recipe said..." Start by setting 50 g of barley grains to soak overnight."  I cant find the website to clarify.

yozzause's picture
yozzause

Hi Patti Y not sure if you have home brew shops in your part of the world as we do here in Australia but they are a great source of grains that serious home brewers like to incorporate in their brews. i have been able to get malted rye flakes as well as whole rye berries. Barley is brewers favorite grain!

Regards Derek  

Patti Y's picture
Patti Y

Now that you mention it, I live about 20 minutes from Choc Beer Brewery (Choctaw Beer). They have been in business since the late 1800s. (Most of those years it was illegal, but the miners loved it. ? )

I will have to check them out. I don't drink beer so I didn't think about it until you mentioned it. Thanks

David R's picture
David R

If you crushed it, then IMO overnight soaking wouldn't make much sense anymore. I think they probably mean whole kernels, but here's a little test - if you think of it as whole ones, does the recipe appear to make sense? (For example, if the recipe says stir the soaked barley grains into the flour mixture, it's probably right.)

Patti Y's picture
Patti Y

That makes sense...no point in crushing it. 

So I need to look for whole kernels of barley. Thanks.

pmccool's picture
pmccool

Could you post the recipe or point us to it, please?  That would give us a better sense of what you are dealing with. 

Paul

Patti Y's picture
Patti Y

Thanks, Paul

 

https://recipereminiscing.wordpress.com/2015/03/10/barley-bread-byggbrd/     (recipe in English)

And I found this comment on the same site, but different page... "A juicy and rustic barley bread that tastes good, is healthy, and keeps very well. Start by setting 1,75 oz./ 50g of barley grains to soak overnight." 

Dough 1:        (I assume this is a poolish )
You will need:
1 pt. / 5 dl water, 98,5º F / 37º C
1,55 lb. / 700 g barley.      (???? The directions say mix in barley flour, so I will assume this "barley" is flour. )

Procedure:
[1] Stir the barley flour into the water.

[2] Let stand for 30 minutes.

[3] Add the softened barley grains. (50g according to that other page on the same site.)

 

Dough 2.
4 dl water, 98,5º F / 37º C
1,75 oz. / 50 g rapeseed oil
1,55 lb. / 700 g flour.           ( AP flour? Bread flour? Barley flour? I think it needs wheat flour to rise, right?
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons honey
1 pkg. dry yeast

 

Barley grains means the whole grain, right? It has not been processed in any way? Do I just look for barley grains or could it be called something else?

 

Thanks

 

pmccool's picture
pmccool

The recipe page actually begins with Step 2, although it isn’t identified as such.  The preceding page (that you noticed) has the directions for the softened barley grains required for Dough 1. 

So, yes, those would be the whole barley kernels.  Since they don’t specify anything about the barley grains, I would assume hulled barley instead of pearled barley.  

I think you are on the right track in assuming that Dough 1 uses barley flour and Dough 2 uses bread flour.  That should be a tasty, if rather heavy, bread. 

Paul

Patti Y's picture
Patti Y

I agree, but the picture was so pretty! Will bread flour make it more dense than AP flour? Thanks.

pmccool's picture
pmccool

The barley flour will contribute to the heaviness, since it lacks gluten.  That's why bread flour is specified; it contains more gluten than AP flour and will produce a loftier loaf.  

It wouldn’t surprise me if the bread is also more crumbly than an all-wheat bread, also because of barley's lack of gluten.  

The flavor should make the bread worth the effort, though.  And, if you find it too dense or too crumbly for your liking, lower the barley flour fraction while increasing the bread flour fraction in the formula until you get what you want.  

Paul

Patti Y's picture
Patti Y

Thank you, pmccool.

As soon as I find some barley grains I will make it.  I drove 2 hours to look for some at an organic food store, but no success.