Mixing Wheat Flour with Barley Flour for the Production of Egyptian Flatbread (al khobz al baladi)
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Citation
Shaker Arafat. (31/12/2025). Mixing Wheat Flour with Barley Flour for the Production of Egyptian Flatbread (al khobz al baladi).
Abstract
The subsidized traditional Baladi bread loaf plays a fundamental role in human nutrition as well as in social and political life. It constitutes a vital component of the Egyptian diet and serves as the main ingredient in the daily meals of Egyptian families. A single loaf of Baladi bread provides the eaters with approximately 70% of their daily carbohydrate and protein requirements and around 52% of the recommended daily caloric intake per person. Additionally it contains essential minerals such as iron and zinc. Moreover, traditional Baladi bread is one of the most important subsidized food commodities available to consumers, with bread subsidies amounting to about 22 billion Egyptian pounds in the 2022/2023 fiscal year, representing more than 60% of total food subsidy. And more than 70 million citizens benefit from the bread subsidy. The quantity of wheat available for consumption in 2022 was estimated at approximately 21.6 million tons, of which around 9.8 million tons were domestically produced. The resulting gap that covered by imports amounted to about 11.8 million tons valued at USD 2.99 billion. This is an unfavorable indicator as it reflects the increased dependence on external sources and a decline in food security with respect to the wheat crop. Moreover, the growing volume of wheat imports imposes a burden on Egypt’s agricultural and food trade balance as well as the payments balance that poses a potential risk within the current global political tensions and economic fluctuations.
In recent years, ICARDA has intensified its support for barley production research in Egypt, allocating a portion of this production for making the traditional Baladi bread. Accordingly, this project was launched to utilize domestically produced barley and incorporate barley flour in experimental breadmaking. Approximately 1.15 tons of barley grains have been made available to the Food Technology Research Institute to initiate the project. A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Professor Dr. Shaker Arafat, Director of the Food Technology Research Institute, and Eng. Ali Abu Sabea, Director General of ICARDA, at the headquarters of the Food Technology Research Institute – Agricultural Research Center, in the presence of Dr. Heba Gomaa, Head of the Barley Department. During the meeting, the general broad lines of the experiment was outlined. Officials from ICARDA presented an initiative aimed at maximizing the utilization of barley types (both hulled and hulless barley ) through collaboration between the Field Crops Research Institute and the Food Technology Research Institute to produce traditional Baladi bread. The initiative seeks to help narrow the gap between bread production and consumption. Consultative meetings were held among specialists from the two institutes and ICARDA, resulting in an agreement to identify the barley varieties suitable for use in conducting the bread loaf production experiment.
In a related context, ICARDA officials promised to provide the necessary financial support in order to conduct the bread production experiment and to implement a field study to evaluate the bread produced by Mixing barley flour, in varying proportions, with subsidized wheat flour (87.5% extraction). During the implementation of the experiment, ICARDA experts participated in developing the field study, monitoring the production trial, and taking part in the field evaluation itself.
The proposed work plan was presented to the Chairman of the Agricultural Research Center, who discussed the implementation mechanisms and the respective roles of the Food Technology Research Institute, the Field Crops Research Institute, and ICARDA. He emphasized the importance of precise execution and strict adherence to the work plan and the proposed time-line.
As a result, the project aims to utilize alternative varieties of hulless barley, specifically (Giza 130 and Giza 135), which can be cultivated in marginal lands (without affecting the acreage of other crops) the flour produced from these types can be Mixed with wheat flour to determine the optimal Mixing portions for producing high-quality, nutritionally rich, and consumer-acceptable subsidized traditional Baladi bread. This initiative is expected to reduce wheat imports, ease the burden on Egypt’s payments balance , and conserve foreign currency reserves.
