Barley bread is a type of

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

made from barley flour derived from the grain of the

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

plant. In the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

it is a bread which dates back to the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

. Today, barley flour is commonly blended (in a smaller proportion) with wheat flour to make conventional breadmaking flour.

Religious references

A loaf of barley bread features in a dream mentioned in : a Midianite man dreamt that "a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed"; Israelite leader Gideon overheard an account of the dream and concluded that he was assured of victory over the Midianites. Loaves made of barley feature in the story of the feeding of the 5000 in John's Gospel in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

(). It is mentioned in

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

sources as a commoner's food in comparison with wheat bread, perceived as a luxury item. In the

Muwatta Imam Malik ''Al-Muwaṭṭaʾ'' (, 'the approved') or ''Muwatta Imam Malik'' () of Malik ibn Anas, Imam Malik (711–795) written in the 8th-century, is one of the earliest collections of hadith texts comprising the subjects of Sharia, Islamic law, compile ...

(hadith 1700) it is narrated that Jesus the son of Mary used to say, "O Children of Israel! You must drink pure water and the green things of the land and barley bread. Beware of wheat bread, for you will not be grateful enough for it." Another narration from Sahih Bukhari (5413) gives a detailed comparison between sifted, fine flour and unsifted flour for making barley bread: I asked Sahl bin Sa`d, "Did Allah's Messenger ever eat white flour?" Sahl said, "Allah's Messenger never saw white flour since Allah sent him as an Apostle till He took him unto Him." I asked, "Did the people have (use) sieves during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger?" Sahl said, "Allah's Messenger never saw (used) a sieve since Allah sent him as a prophet until He took him unto Him," I said, "How could you eat barley unsifted?" he said, "We used to grind it and then blow off its husk, and after the husk flew away, we used to prepare the dough (bake) and eat it."

References

External links

*{{usurped,
Ancient barley bread
} Barley Barley-based dishes

Religious references

See also

References

External links