September 22, 2015 - 11:15am
Barley Flour and Vital Wheat Gluten
I bought about 4 pounds worth of barley flour from Bob's Red Mill, and it's pretty great. I love the slightly sweet, nutty taste it provides, and the high fiber content is a big bonus.
After making a wonderful round loaf in my oven using a 33/33/33 proportion of bread flour, whole wheat flour, and barley flour, I was struck with a question. Since barley barely has gluten in it, could I theoretically make a 100% barley bread, put a bunch of vital wheat gluten in it, and end up with a nice loaf?
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but be ready for a very tight texture. And it wouldn't be 100% barley would it? (squint)
What about using a tangzhong with it? :)
Well yeah, not quite 100% - but close enough for my purposes at least! :)
I've never done a tangzhong before, would be nice to try out.
many other grains so it it is great for diabetics too -not to mention making malts and liquid bread - beer!
I have tried bere meal in the past. It's an old barley variety. It didn't make good bread at all. Not on its own, anyway. You might get away with bannocks or something though.
-Gordon
I suppose adding an egg white or two could also help the bread rise? I'll try this all in a few weeks and report back - vital wheat gluten, tangzhong, egg whites, the works. If it's as close in texture and rise as a basic 100% whole wheat bread I'll be happy.