Barley Bread

It was cold and icy today; the kind of day to stay inside. My 4 year old and I decided we wanted to bake, but I was out of white or whole wheat pastry flours. So I went on a search of things we could make with my assorted different flours. This is adapted from a recipe I found online. It does not rise much and is a bit crumbly but is a nice dense bread to smear with a bit of butter or dunk into soup.

• Ready In: 3 hrs 25 mins
• Yields: 2 round breads

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  yeast
• 1⁄2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1⁄2 cup warm water
• 1 -2  cup  barley flour
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1⁄2 cup warm water
• 1  tablespoon canola oil
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1⁄3 cup  white  bean flour

Directions

1. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
2. Put the first three ingredients (yeast, 1/2 tsp brown sugar and 1/2 cup warm water) in a small bowl and mix well. Let the yeast bubble and foam.
3. In a large bowl add 1 cup of the barley flour and the remaining 1/2 cup warm water. Mix together well.
4. Add the 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar, the oil, and the salt and mix well.
5. Add the yeast mixture and mix well.
6. Add the bean flour and mix well.
7. Add as much more barley flour as you need to make a kneadable dough (mine took the entire 1 more cup).
8. Put some more barley flour down on a work surface and then knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.
9. Form 2 small balls and place them on the cookie sheet. Make a small cut in the tops of each.
10. Let rise until doubled (mine did not get that big but I baked them after about 2 hours).
11. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 1 hour.