Whole Wheat Barley Bread
This is a home-friendly modification of a somewhat complicated recipe. The measurements are in grams because using metrics is the only way to achieve accuracy in bread making.
Ingredients
Pre-Ferment:
- 175 grams coarse whole-wheat flour
- 35 grams barley flour
- 331 grams water
- 50 grams barley berries
- 1.2 grams active dry yeast
Dough:
- Pre-ferment from recipe above
- 100 grams water
- 175 grams whole-wheat flour
- 105 grams bread flour
- 70 grams barley flour
- 7 grams yeast
- 18 grams salt
Method
Cook the barley berries: Place the barley in a small saucepan and cover up to 2 inches with water. Bring up to a boil over medium heat. Turn heat down to low and let simmer covered, until berries are tender, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool, strain out liquid and set aside until ready to use.
Prepare the pre-ferment 24 hours before the dough is to be made. In a small mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and cooked berries. Whisk in the water, cover bowl with a damp towel and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours. Transfer to the refrigerator for 22 hours.
Remove the pre-ferment and bring to room temperature.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the yeast and the water, stirring until yeast is dissolved. Combine the mixture with the whole-wheat flour, bread flour, and barley flour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. On low speed, add the salt and mix for 8 minutes or until all ingredients are incorporated and dough comes together.
Remove the dough from the mixer, cover with a damp cloth and allow to ferment and double in size, 60-90 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 450˚F. Place an empty baking sheet on the last shelf in your oven and allow to heat up as oven warms up. Remove dough from bowl and place on a well floured surface. The dough will deflate as you move from the bowl and that’s ok.
Using a bench scraper, divide the dough evenly into 16 pieces, cover with a damp towel and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape the dough pieces into round balls and place on a lightly grease baking sheet. Cover rolls with a towel and allow to double in size, about 30-45 minutes.
Place the bread in the oven. Pour a cup of water onto the hot baking sheet on the bottom shelf. This will create steam. Bake the bread, rotating once, until lightly browned and bottom of roll sounds hollow when tapped, about 18-20 minutes
Yield
16 rolls or 1 rustic loaf
