I read in Bread Matters by Andrew Whitley that barley made a very nutritious bread with lots of soluble fiber. (It also has a low glycemic index.) This inspired me to look through my cookbooks and I found a recipe for barley bread in Jean Anderson’s The Food of Portugal, one of my first cookbooks.
As I started making the dough I realized that there was something wrong with the quantities in her recipe, since there was not enough hydration for a workable dough. This is how I modified the recipe and made a 7-inch loaf. As modified, it tasted good, with a texture a bit like cornbread. A key thing to remember is that barley has almost no gluten, so this dough will not behave like a normal dough made from 100% wheat flour.
2-1/4 tsp. (1 package) yeast
5.67 oz. milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm, divided
4.43 oz. all-purpose flour, divided
7.0 oz. (1.5 cups) barley flour
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1/3 tsp. salt
Oil for the doubling container
Begin by making a sponge from the yeast, 3.33 oz. of the scalded milk, and 3.33 oz. of the flour. Mix well, cover, and allow to ferment in a warm place for 45 minutes.
When the sponge has doubled, put it in the bowl of a stand mixer with the remaining 2.33 oz. of scalded milk, the remaining 1.1 oz. of all-purpose flour, the barley flour, butter and salt. Knead with a dough hook to form a sticky, but workable dough, scraping down the sides as needed to ensure that all the flour is incorporated into the dough. Form the dough into a ball, coat it with a little oil, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and allow to ferment for about 1-1/4 hours, until doubled. Put the risen dough on a piece of baking parchment, reshape into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap, and allow it to proof for another 45 minutes.
While the dough is proofing, preheat the oven to 450 degrees with a heavy pot and lid also in the oven to preheat. (I used the Lodge cast iron combo cooker.)
Bake the risen dough in the heavy pot with the lid on for 20 minutes, and then bake it for 15 minutes with the lid off. Allow to cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting the loaf.
