Malted Barley Bread
The first bakery I ever worked in was called The Bread Garden in Berkeley, Ca. It was way ahead of its time, predating legendary bakeries like Acme Bread in Berkeley, Ca and Bread Alone in Boiceville, NY. These were the bakeries that started making Artisanal european style breads before anyone in the US knew what they were. To Americans, bread was white, squishy, pre-sliced mediocrity found in the bread aisle at the grocery store.
David Morris, owner of The Bread Garden, died of cancer at the young age of 65 in April, 2013. He was one of the few certified Master Bakers in the US; a quirky, generous man with an interest in beekeeping, wine making and homebrewing beer. As a homebrewer myself, we shared an interest, and he shared his famous Malted Barley Bread recipe.
David gave me my first bakery job, and I like to think Seven Stars wouldn’t be what it is without his influence over 20 years ago.
The result: new, innovative avenues for growth that are grounded in business viability and market desirability.You hear about breads made with spent grain from the brewing process. Unfortunately, spent grain is just that. Spent. The first step in brewing happens in the mash tun. Adding water to malted barley, at the correct temperature, converts starch in the barley to sugar. This sugary liquid, called wort, is then run off into the kettle, boiled with hops, fermented and becomes beer.
What is left in the mash tun is the spent grain. Lots of texture, but not much else. This spent grain is generally used as feed for cattle or pigs. David used the actual, sugary mash in a loaf of bread, something only a baker that was also a brewer would do! To this day, I’ve yet to see a “beer bread recipe that uses this technique. I’ve taken Davids recipe and added a local twist. Not only is the mash added, but the majority of the water has been replaced with Barstool Golden Ale from Pawtuckets own Foolproof Brewery.
Malted Barley Bread is based on classic French Pain au Levain, but adds the mash from a pale ale and Foolproofs excellent session beer Barstool.
Posted by
Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson leads our production team. Mark is not a new face to the bakery.
Having also worked under the original bakery owner, he has honed his skill of bread making for over 20 years and is our most skilled and experienced baker. He leads the production unit and teaches the art of bread making to new staff on his team. You can find Mark at the dough mixer in the early mornings, setting the stage for the day's operationsTogether with our team we produce and deliver thousands of loaves of bread each week.
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