Hey, I hope this is the right category for this, but I was wondering if anyone knows something about “parching” barley flour prior to making bread with it, which seems to be synonymous to toasting or lightly roasting it.
A couple random sources I’ve found briefly alluded to it being a common old practice that allegedly “improves the flavor” and one implied that doing so was virtually ESSENTIAL to making good barley bread. But I could find very little consistent detail anywhere, regarding either the how, OR most importantly the why of it.
I’ve tried toasting freshly ground hullless barley from my nutrimill in a skillet and found it slightly tedious to do, all told, and felt there was no great flavor revelation, while on the other hand at the moment I just finished eating some slices from a pan loaf that was a mix of wheat, barley (NOT “parched”), and a few rolled oats which is quite delicious–and which my 4-year-old virtually inhaled. But I haven’t worked with barley enough yet to have done any controlled side-by-side comparisons.
Any thoughts…? 