Barley bread with baking ferment

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 400 g barley
• 300 g spelt
• 100 g oats
• 100 g rye meal
• 30 g sourdough (basic baking ferment, Sekowa)
• 1 tsp sourdough (baking ferment, granules)
• 20 g salt
• 1 tbsp beet syrup
• 1 tsp baking malt (can be omitted)
• 1 tbsp bread spice mix (caraway, coriander, some fennel, possibly a little cardamom)
• 1 piece(s) of butter or some separating fat for greasing the mold
• 300 ml water (40 °C)
• 350 ml water (50 °C)
• 1 handful of flakes to sprinkle the molds
• 1 handful of flaxseeds (optional)

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 14 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes; Total time approx. 16 hours 10 minutes

Barley, not to be confused with barley bread (flamed), a North German specialty

Finely grind all the grains and mix them with the rye meal. Reserve 300g of this for the pre-dough. Mix the basic baking ferment and granules with the 40°C warm water and stir into the flour mixture to form a medium-firm dough. Cover and let rise at 25-28°C for at least 12 hours. Then add the rest of the flour/meal mixture, the salt, bread spices, beet syrup, baking malt if desired, and approximately 350ml of 50°C warm water. Mix everything together and let stand for another 50 minutes at 28-30°C. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Grease two loaf pans, sprinkle the bottom with flakes (oats), pour in the dough, and keep warm for another 50 minutes. Spray or steam the loaves with a little water, score them, and bake for 60 to 70 minutes at a reduced temperature. Remove from the tin and bake for the last 10 minutes at 180°C. Optionally, stir a handful of flaxseed into the main batter. Barley bread keeps well and has a very distinctive, slightly bitter flavor. Due to its high beta-glucan content, it’s said to be quite healthy.