In the summer of 2005 a range of naked barley varieties was tested at the Henfaes Research Centre. Yields were good with no major agronomic problems encountered, proving that naked barley is a viable crop in Gwynedd. Successfully growing a crop is only half of the story - processing to create a marketable product is the next step. Wheat varieties are assessed and grouped according to their suitability for different products e.g. bread or biscuit making. Such variation in barley has not been studied until now and a successful variety must combine good agronomic characteristics, such as high yield and resistance to disease, with bread making quality.

We are conducting a series of baking trials at Henfaes to investigate the bread making properties of the varieties, an obvious, though technically challenging procedure. Loaves are tested to find which flour characteristics are important in determining bread quality.

Barley does not contain the high-molecular-weight gluten that is unique to bread wheat. This is an insoluble elastic protein that acts like bubblegum, trapping the gas bubbles produced by the yeast, causing the bread to rise. Barley can be used to make flat bread, but wheat flour must be added to make leavened bread. Therefore a second objective of the trials is to assess how much barley can be included without degrading loaf quality.

In 2006 the Henfaes trials have been expanded to include more than 30 varieties of barley from around the world. They are grown in trial plots, which will be harvested, milled and the grain quality analysed. We are also growing a range of wheat varieties as controls to compare the grain quality of the barley flour to industry standard bread and biscuit wheat varieties. For further comparison, and product development, we have included rye (which has weaker, sticky gluten) and einkorn wheat (a primitive wheat with weak gluten) in the tests.

Our aims during the remaining period of the trials, are to run a second set of baking tests on the European varieties from the 06 crops to see if there are environmental differences between 05 and 06, and test the range of Himalayan varieties, which we didn't grow in the field last year.

Dr Edward Dicken
University of Wales Bangor