Boost Your Bread with Barley: Artisan Bakers use Barley for Improved Texture, Enhanced Flavor and added Nutrients
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Artisan Bakers have a secret ingredient very few know about, and that secret ingredient is barley! Barley is known for it’s many health benefits! However, many don’t realize that when added to our bread loaves, it transforms them from homemade bread that crumbles easily into the most delicious artisan loaf with a chewy crisp crust, a better crumble and a distinctive aroma and taste!
Barley boosts the nutrition in our loaves because barley is high in fiber and a substance called beta-glucans. Beta-glucans are an effective soluble fiber in barley, that’s known for significantly lowering bad cholesterol (LDL), strengthening heart health, controlling blood sugar and helping with weight management. In fact, these beta glucans from barley form a gel in the gut that slows down nutrient absorption which helps with blood sugar control and appetite suppression. The gel grabs on to cholesterol containing bile acids and prevents them from reabsorbing, so they can be removed from our bodies.
Barley boosts a bread’s texture and taste! When added to our bread recipes, barley can create a tender crumb, chewy crust and a good oven spring! It acts as a dough conditioner, helping with the structure of the bread specifically with volume and porosity. Barley also slows bread from going stale. Artisan bakers replace anywhere from 10 to 50% of their wheat flour with barley!
Hulled barley can be malted through a fairly simple process at home. Using malted barley in your bread adds even more flavor and texture to your bread loaves! Malted barley gives your bread enzymes that convert flour starch into sugars that feed the yeast for a better rise, flavor, and an even softer crumb. This also promotes a darker more rustic crust! This process also boosts fermentation, improves dough handling and adds a subtle sweetness to your loaves.
You can learn about how to turn hulled barley into malted barley by clicking this link below. They are making malted barley for brewing, however you can use the dried whole malted barley to mill it in your mill (once it is thoroughly dried out) and use it in your bread recipes to take them to a whole new level!
We have Hulled Barley available during this month’s bulk order!
Our shop link can be found here:
More info about how this bulk order works can be found here:
Yah’s Manna Grain Co. and Farm
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