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Black Barley, Whole Wheat & Whole Spelt Sourdough Bread

Elly

This post contains affiliate links to my Amazon storefront (bread books and equipment ideas) and Mockmill page on this website.
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Introduction

This gorgeous wholegrain sourdough bread recipe with freshly milled wheat, spelt and black barley flour is another great example of how you can make 100% wholegrain sourdough bread with a range of nutritious whole grains!

This is a very easy, simple recipe, and I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. You can substitute any kind of whole wheat flour for the hard white wheat and spelt flours I used in this recipe. You can also use any kind of barley grain or flour for this recipe. The whole black barley grain I have could be hard to source and I was lucky to be gifted this beautiful grain by John from Provenance Flour and Malt at the 2023 GrAiNZ event in Victoria.

This kind of recipe is very forgiving, and you may want to adjust the water amount for your particular wholegrain flours (they vary a lot in absorbency). See this video for a demonstration on how to check the best hydration level for your flours.

Make sure you watch the video below for the full recipe demonstration. The written recipe is provided below.

Black Barley Wholegrain Sourdough Bread

*All volume measures Australian metric

INGREDIENTS

  • 700g total flour:

    • 150g whole barley flour
      The black barley was gifted to me as mentioned above. Any whole barley can be used if you cannot find black barley. I mill all of my own flours at home using my Mockmill 200.

    • 430g whole wheat flour

    • 120g whole spelt flour
      I buy my whole wheat, spelt and white barley grain here.

  • 500g water

  • 13g salt

  • 100g or about half a cup of sourdough starter
    This page has everything you need to know about making and easily maintaining your own sourdough starter

METHOD

  1. To a mixing bowl (machine mixer or hand mixing) add water, flours and sourdough starter. I used my Bear mixer in the video, but any mixer will work. Here are a few affordable options if you’re looking to purchase something (affiliate link).

  2. Mix these until just combined, then rest covered for 30-60 minutes.

  3. Then add the salt and mix again for 15 minutes, or until the dough becomes smooth.

  4. Ferment the dough until it is visibly risen and starts to feel more light and airy to the touch. As with all sourdough bread making, fermentation time depends largely on the temperature of the dough and the individual kitchen environment. As a rough guide, my doughs normally take about 4 hours to ferment in summertime, and anywhere up to 8-10 hours (or overnight) in winter. Check out this resource for general pointers on successful wholegrain sourdough bread making and this video for tips on how to manage sourdough baking in summertime.

  5. Remove the fermented dough from the bowl and shape into a smooth log shape to fit your bread pan. You will need a medium to large sized pan for this loaf.

  6. Place the bread tin and dough inside a container or plastic bag to proof, this will prevent it from drying out.

  7. Proof the dough for anywhere between 30 minutes up to two hours! The time this takes depends a lot on the temperature of the dough and your kitchen. The dough is ready to bake when almost doubled in size.

  8. When the dough looks close to being ready to bake, preheat an oven safe baking dish (I use an oblong roasting dish with a lid) to 210°C / 410°F for at least 15 minutes. The roasting dish is optional, but it does help trap steam around the loaf which increases oven spring.

  9. When the oven and pot are preheated, carefully remove the hot pot from the oven, lift the dough into the pot, spray with water, cover the pot and return it to the oven.

  10. Bake covered for about 50 minutes, or until the loaf is a nice dark, golden colour. Slightly overdone is far better than under baked, especially when it comes to 100% whole grain sourdough! Ovens vary, so check it at 45 minutes and bake further if needed.

  11. Remove the bread from the tin and cool on a wire rack for at least one hour (preferably a few more) before slicing.

  12. Enjoy your healthy, tasty wholegrain sourdough bread fresh with the toppings of your choice or as scrumptious toast! (Some bread storage tips in this video).

Let me know if you try this, I’d love to know!


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