Monday 28 November 2011

Barley Bread Recipe.

Recipe courtesy of Donna from the Healthy Eating Site - http://thehealthyeatingsite.com/

Bread made from Barley was eaten regularly during the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). Barley is an extremely nutritious grain which lowers high cholesterol and may help prevent heart disease. It is also more effective at maintaining stable blood sugar levels that wheat for those who are diabetic.

This dense, rustic flat bread has a satisfying nutty taste and crunchy texture around the edges. It’s great served with soups and stews, or salads. It’s also nice on it’s own, spread with honey or avocado as a snack or light meal. Best served warm, right from the oven.

Because it’s wheat-free, this bread doesn’t contain the amount of gluten that a wheat-based loaf would, so therefore it doesn’t puff up and create a light, airy bread like wheat-based loaves. It’s more a cross between a flat-bread and a cracker, crunchy around the edges. But I love the texture, it feels much more substantial than a typical airy loaf. It’s chewy in the middle, crunchy around the edges and much more flavorful than wheat flour. Oh, and it’s vegan as well.

This is one of the easiest and quickest bread recipes I’ve ever used. No bread maker or mixer required, it’s easy enough to do it all manually. You don’t need to wait until the dough rises (proofs), so it’s a great option for whipping up some bread at the last minute to go with your meal.

This recipe makes one small loaf.

Ingredients:

2 cups barley flour
2 tsp wheat-free baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp flaxseed (linseed)
2 tbsp sunflower seed

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 200 C/400 F. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a mixing bowl. You can use a fine-mesh strainer instead of a sifter. Just use a spoon to tap the sides of the strainer to sift the dry ingredients through the mesh. You can also use the spoon to ‘stir’ the flour if you prefer, make sure the spoon is touching the bottom of the strainer and stir in a circular motion just inside the rim of the strainer.

Once all the dry ingredients are sifted, blend the water, olive oil, flaxseed and sunflower seeds in a high-powered blender until liquefied. The non-vegan version calls for cream and milk, so you’re creating a seed milk substitute. Fold this seed milk into the flour and mix until it forms a dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and using your hands shape it into a flat round shape about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick.

Slide the loaf onto the baking sheet and use a knife to score the top of the loaf to form the slices. Then using the prongs of a fork, make indentations all over the top of the loaf.

Bake until pale golden in color, about 15-20 minutes. Cut or break into wedges along the score lines and serve warm.

Variations:

• Add a handful of sunflower seeds to the sifted flour just before adding the liquid ingredients.

• Add 2 tbsp citrus zest (lemon, lime or orange) to the flour mixture just before adding the liquids.

3 comments:

  1. aslm. can this bread also be successfully frozen and reheated?

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    Replies
    1. Wa alaikum asalaam. Unfortunately no. It is best made fresh

      Delete
  2. Jazaki Allaah for sharing, love. I don't understand the use of baking powder as leaveners came into history later. There's wild yeast in the air and I was hoping to find something closer to the sunnah. Still, I'd like to share the only recipe I know that gives a beautiful soft and lightly-risen bread, using baking soda (simpler, since it's an ingredient in baking powder). Also even a tbsp of banana added to it will react nicely with the baking soda to give it great texture.


    Professor Beydler's Family Tradition Banana Bread-Inspired, tried and tested (this recipe is halved for newcomers to try)

    2 tbsp ground flaxseed or chai seeds
    1/4 cup (or 60g) purified water
    1 1/4 cups (or 160g) whole barley flour
    1 tsp baking soda
    a pinch sea salt
    1-2 medium-large bananas, depending on how much banana sweetness and flavor, but as I mentioned, even 1 tbsp will do
    1/8 cup (or 25g) olive oil
    1/2 cup (or 60g) chopped walnuts or pecans* optional
    3 softened dates (soak in warm water for 15 mins if needed, drain)

    1. Preheat oven to 375F,190C, or 170C fan.
    2. Mix seeds with water and set aside.
    3. Mix flour, baking soda, sea salt in big bowl.
    4. Mash banana(s) well on plate and add to bowl.
    5. Add seed-water, oil, nuts if desired, and dates to bowl. Mix well.
    6. Transfer dough to oven-safe round or regular loaf tin and bake for 20mins, or until a toothpick comes out dry. If doubling the recipe, 40mins.
    7. Enjoy! Great with tea, dipped in olive oil + apple cider vinegar, or on its own.


    - From a History manic, Breadmaking enthusiast, and lover of the Sunnah

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