OAT & BARLEY BANNOCK

MAKES 1 LARGE LOAF / PREPARATION 10 MINUTES PLUS 30 MINUTES SOAKING / COOKING 50 MINUTES

½ cup pearl barley ½ cup oats

1 teaspoon malt vinegar 200-225ml milk

1 cup wholemeal flour 2 teaspoons baking soda ½ teaspoon salt oil, for cooking

Place the barley in a saucepan and cover well with water. Bring to the boil then simmer for 25 minutes. Drain and rinse well with cold water.

Stir together the barley, oats, vinegar and 200ml of milk in a bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.

Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Using a knife, gently mix in the milk, oat and barley mix to form a dough (add a little more milk if the dough doesn’t come together easily). Turn out onto a floured board. Gently pat out to a circle about 22cm across and 1cm thick.

Heat a heavy-based frying pan over a low heat, add oil and the bread and cook for about 12 minutes on each side. It will take this time to cook through, so if it seems to be browning too fast, turn down the heat. Alternatively, add the bread to the hot pan then cook in a 180℃ oven for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack and cut in wedges to serve.