8 Comments

I've been making a version of Irish brown bread this week, too — we're all loving it! Love your idea of using barley flour and beer. Yum :)

Expand full comment
author

Ah and I just read your newsletter!! Can't wait to try your recipe. It was such a highlight of Ireland when I was there, and seemingly at every restaurant and cafe.

Expand full comment
Mar 17Liked by Lukas Volger

This is a wonderful recipe! Made it today and is definitely a keeper. I added 1/3 cup raisins and will definitely make it again.

Note, that l weighed the ingredients and there was definitely a difference in measured vs weighed (more of measured). The hardest part was that l ground my own barley as did not have flour.

Expand full comment
author

Wonderful, I'm glad to hear! I can see how a little bit of fruit in here would be nice.

When you say difference in the volume vs. weights -- I always do the spoon and level method, which yields less flour than the scooping and tapping/packing/compressing-on-the-side-of-the-flour-bin way that some people do it, and always try to make that clear. Also, cup sizes vary slightly from one manufacturer to the next, which I was very surprised to lear! In baking weights are always just so much more accurate.

Expand full comment

Interesting,it could be a difference in cup size or I scooped but may have tapped on the measuring cup (was too lazy to use a sieve)- then decided, what the heck and weighed instead (as l know that is the most accurate). Thank you for sharing the recipe.

Expand full comment
Mar 8Liked by Lukas Volger

I love the idea of barley flour - have never used. I have SO many flours to use up, (and spices and odd ends from international travel…!) that I’ve promised myself no more buying. May I use a medium rye in your opinion?

Expand full comment
author

I know how that goes! My crisper drawer is full of so many different flours! I haven't tried it with rye but imagine that could work, going by weight rather than volume. And you can always just use more whole-wheat, too.

Expand full comment

Yum! Yes, I will try this and maybe even sneak in some sourdough discard -- it's completely whole grain too! I do bake with barley off and on when I find it NOT pearled, but I have had the same experience of gumminess! I can add maybe 25g of black barley freshly milled to my sourdough breads (450g total flour) and then it's okay. I do dust my loaves with barley though; but it's beer barley -- the kind you get at the homebrew store! It's wonderfully malty and beery and makes a yummy crust. I use mostly the grain for Vienna Lager for this - it's light and malty and not bitter like some of the darker roasted ones. The other thing to do with whole grain barely (not the flour though) is cook it together in the pressure cooker with oat groats, rye, red rice & farro and add cooked lentils to it and you have "BLORRF". WUAHAHA! This makes awesome grain bowls!

Expand full comment