Directions

Desired dough temperature: 78°F

Steep Barley

Add Purple Barley Berries to boiling water and steep for approximately 1 hour. Strain, reserve the water for dough, save barley, refrigerate for another use.

Make White Dough

In a medium bowl mix together 190g water & 50g leaven until combined, add 250g Artisan bread flour, and continue to mix until there are no longer any dry spots. Cover the bowl and let rest for 30 minutes. Next add 5g salt with a splash of water and mix squeezing with your hand for a minute or two to combine the salt. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rest in a warm, dry place for 1 hour.

This dough will require 3 sets of stretches and folds during bulk fermentation (4 hours total, including the 1 hour of rest above). After the first rest hour, wet your hands, grab one side of the dough, and lift it up and over to the other side. Rotate the bowl 180 degrees and repeat. Then rotate the bowl a quarter turn and stretch and fold that side. Rotate the bowl 180 degrees again and finish with a stretch and fold on the last side. The dough should be neatly folded up in the bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rest for 1 hour, then repeat stretch and folds two more times.

Make Purple Dough

In a medium bowl mix together 190g purple water & 50g leaven until combined, add 200g Artisan bread flour & 50g Purple Barley flour, continue to mix until there are no longer any dry spots. Next add 5g salt with a splash of water and mix squeezing with your hand for a minute or two to combine the salt. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rest in a warm, dry place for 1 hour.

This dough will require 3 sets of stretches and folds during bulk fermentation (4 hours total, including the 1 hour of rest above). After the first rest hour, wet your hands, grab one side of the dough, and lift it up and over to the other side. Rotate the bowl 180 degrees and repeat. Then rotate the bowl a quarter turn and stretch and fold that side. Rotate the bowl 180 degrees again and finish with a stretch and fold on the last side. The dough should be neatly folded up in the bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rest for 1 hour, then repeat stretch and folds two more times.

Shape & Cold Fermentation

Stretch each of the doughs side by side on a lightly floured surface into a rough rectangle. Next drape the purple dough over the white dough covering 1/2 of the white dough with 1/2 of the purple dough lengthwise. Next fold the white dough (in 1/2 hot-dog style) covering the purple dough and then the purple over the white. You should end with a white, purple, white, purple pattern.

Next roll the dough into a loaf, pull into a tight loaf, place in into a well-floured proofing basket, seam-side up, cover with a floured tea towel. Cover and place in fridge for 12 to 24 hours.

Bake

Place Dutch oven on middle rack of oven and preheat your oven to 500°F for 1 hour.

When the oven is preheated, take proofing basket out of the fridge, uncover it, and put a piece of parchment paper over the basket. Using both hands, flip everything over. Gently remove the basket and score the dough, then transfer to the preheated Dutch oven.

Place in the oven, cover with the lid. Reduce oven temperature to 475°F and bake for 15 minutes. After this time, remove the lid (you can keep it in the oven or remove it) and continue to bake for 15 minutes more or until internal temperature reaching 205°F.

Let the loaves cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before slicing.

Share and enjoy!

Makes 1 loaf.

Recipe contributed by Desert Flour Bread