This loaf came out so silky smooth and still had some sweetness from the malted barley. What is malted barley and where do you find it? Well it was hard to find but I go it in the sugar section of my store next to all the alternative sweeteners. The product brand is NOW but I'm sure there are others out there. I have heard that Bob's Red Mill makes one too. It's fine and powdering like a flour/sugar. It is made from sprouting Barley, then drying it in a dehydrator at no higher than 170 degrees and then grinding it into a flour. By converting the grain to sprout it ends up really sweet and a great alternative to sugar, perfect for low GI diets and when replacing your sugars in your recipe you use about 1/4 the amount. I used even less.
Yield: 2 loaves
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees F)
2 tablespoons coconut milk (any milk alternative would work, I prefer coconut or nut milks)
2 Tablespoons Oil
1/4 Cup Malted Barley Sweetener
3 Tablespoons Flax meal
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoons Vital Wheat Gluten (Bob's Red Mill is what I used)
2 cups bread flour
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
Instructions:
1. Combine first 2 ingredients with a sprinkle of the malted barley and let proof for 5 minutes. I did this in the measuring cup so that I could put the next 3 ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir while waiting for the proof. Once the yeast mixture bubbly and fluffy add it to the mixing bowl and stir.
Malted Barley and Yeast Fermenting
Milk, Oil and Malted Barley2. Add bread flour, 1 cup whole wheat, vital wheat gluten, flax meal and salt. Mix until smooth and then add the last 3/4 cup whole wheat a 1/4 cup at a time and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. I do this in my kitehenaid mixer. The dough should be pulled away from the sides of the bowl, the bowl pretty clean and not sticky to the touch. Grease a bowl with olive oil, pull dough out onto the counter and knead it into a ball checking consistency int he process. Then place dough in the greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover with a clean towel and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes to 1.5 hours.It's winter in my house and the wood stove keeps things pretty warm so mine doubled in 40 minutes.
3. Punch dough down; knead for a few minutes until smooth and then form into two loaves. Place in 2 greased loaf pans and cover. Let rise in a warm place until it is the size you would like your loaf to be once baked. It will not rise in the oven, maybe a little, so don't put it in the oven until you like how it looks. Turn the oven on now. Mine takes about 20-30 minutes to heat up and I like it warm and ready to pop the bread into as soon as I like it's size. Having to wait for the oven to heat at that point could cause the bread to fall while waiting and it might rise too much during the heating period. So like I said. Turn it on now.
(Above) Before the rise in the pans & (Below) Risen and just about to start baking.
5. Remove bread from oven and allow to rest in pan for a few minutes. This allows it to sweat a little and removes nicely from the pan and softens the crust. I like soft crust. I removed it to a wire rack to cool. I also put some plastic over the top to soften the top of the loaf. I take it off after about 10 mins. Slice and enjoy while still warm or wait until cooler so that your bread slices nicely! (click here for a little bread slicing tutorial) Leftover bread can be stored in an airtight bag or frozen until needed.
Now to figure out how to decrease the gluten content. Low GI Sprouted Grain bread here we come!
Update:
I adjusted the recipe to be a bit larger and have some oats and seeds. The additions are listed in the comments below and here are a couple pics. It came beautiful, soft and delicious.
