The Gower Loaf Project
The Gower Loaf
This project seeks to reintroduce an important part of Gowers’s culinary heritage, the Gower Loaf: a traditional bread made with a mixture of wheat and barley. Going back to medieval times, barley was the main grain used for making bread in Gower, as the crop is more tolerant of the country’s landscape and wet climate; wheaten flour, especially the finely sieved variety used to make white bread, was a luxury.
We are looking to produce a bread mix that will allow people to make this taste of Gower in their own homes, by producing a ready-made blend of flour for baking into bread.
‘The Gower Loaf’ – Barley bread
A traditional barley loaf recipe made in Gower for centuries’
Ingredients
300g Barley flour,
200g strong white flour,
7g Dried Yeast,
2 level tsps salt,
1 tsp sugar,
400 ml cold water
To make 1 loaf or up to 6 rolls
Instructions
Place dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well.
Add enough water to make a soft dough and mix well
Mix together to form a soft and pliable dough.
Place the dough onto a pre floured surface and knead gently for a few minutes.
Shape your dough into a loaf or rolls and leave to prove in a warm place for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
Bake in a preheated oven 180 c [FA] or gas 6, for about 30 -40 minutes for a loaf or 20-30 minutes for rolls.
The bread is done if it sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
Turn onto a wire rack to cool