Barley flour might not be especially common, but it is actually a super versatile and delicious ingredient to have around the house.
In fact, barley flour probably came about before regular wheat flour, and has been used for thousands of years as a cheap, simple, and surprisingly starchy flour useable in all kinds of breads and doughs.
But instead of hunting down a packet of barley flour at your local supermarket, why not learn how to make it yourself?
How Can I Use My Homemade Barley Flour?
Barley flour can be used as a substitute for wheat flour in pretty much any recipe that you’d use flour in. While it isn’t gluten free, barley has the lowest quantity of gluten in it among all of the gluten-containing grains, making it a great ingredient for those looking for lower gluten in their diets.
It also has a robust, nuttier flavor, as well as typically a lot more fiber. Use it to make cakes, pancakes, breads, or even just to thicken a sauce – you might be surprised just how much you like it over other types of flour!
What Kind Of Special Equipment Do I Need To Make Barley Flour?
So long as you can find pearl barley, the only pieces of special equipment you need to make barley flour are an oven and a blender.
While you could use a dehydrator to help speed up the dehydration process, an oven set to the lowest temperature it can manage works just fine.
Ingredients
1 cup of pearled barley
How To Make Homemade Barley Flour
Step 1 – Measure your barley out, and arrange it in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Step 2 – Toast the barley in an oven set to 150 Fahrenheit, or as low as your oven can comfortably go, for 30 minutes, or until the barley is just beginning to develop toastiness.
Optionally, if you have a dehydrator:
Step 3 – Arrange your barley on a rack in your dehydrator, and set it to “grains and pulses.” Dehydrate until completely dry.
Step 4 – Once totally dry, transfer your barley pieces into a blender and pulse a few times, and then set the blender to low speed.
Step 5 – Blend the barley until it has completely turned into a fine powder, and then pour into a sealable container and store for up to 1 month.
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Troubleshooting Tips
• If your barley doesn’t seem to want to dry out properly, and retains enough moisture that when you squeeze a piece of barley, it gives way and is able to be crushed, then you probably just need to dehydrate it further. Try setting it a slightly higher temperature and leave it for another 15 minutes to see if that finishes dehydrating it.
• One thing that might happen when you go to blend your barley pieces is that a few pieces might seem to just not want to blend properly, leaving behind little flakes of outer layers. If this happens, try pouring your blended barley flour through a sieve to try and catch those leftover pieces. While you could just leave them in the flour, they will likely mess up the texture of whatever recipe you try to use them in.
Nutritional Facts
For the health-conscious out there, here are the nutritional details for ¼ cup of barley flour:
Calories: 176
Total Fat: 0.6 grams
Saturated Fat: 0.1 grams
Cholesterol: 0 milligrams
Sodium: 5 milligrams
Total Carbohydrates: 38.9 grams
Dietary Fiber: 7.8 grams
Sugars: 0.4 grams
Protein: 5 gram
Potassium: 140 milligrams
FAQs
This recipe to make homemade barley flour uses pearl barley, which is a processed to remove the outer bran layer, allowing it to last longer in storage.
However, if you wanted to, you absolutely could use wholegrain barley. Just keep in mind that, because of that outer bran layer, your barley might take a lot longer to dehydrate, and it might not grind up properly in the blender, forcing you to need to use a sieve to try and catch any errant pieces of unblended barley bran.
To dehydrate your barley, your oven needs to be able to maintain a low temperature consistently for at least 30 minutes. This can be a bit of a challenge for some ovens, because while their actual temperature range might say it can go all the way down to 150 Fahrenheit, it could actually struggle to maintain that temperature, and instead fluctuate pretty significantly.
If you find that your oven just won’t maintain the right temperature, try setting your oven to more like 175 Fahrenheit, and cracking the door of your oven open just a little bit. The additional airflow from the open oven door will help mitigate the excess hot spots and fluctuations in temperature from the oven, while ensuring that it still dehydrates without cooking.
How to Make Homemade Barley Flour
Learn how to make some tasty, nutty barley flour with just one ingredient!
Ingredients
1 cup of pearled barley
Instructions
Step 1 – Measure your barley out, and arrange it in a single layer on a baking sheet
Step 2 – Toast the barley in an oven set to 150 Fahrenheit, or as low as your oven can comfortably go, for 30 minutes, or until the barley is just beginning to develop toastiness
Optionally, if you have a dehydrator:
Step 3 – Arrange your barley on a rack in your dehydrator, and set it to “grains and pulses.” Dehydrate until completely dry.
Step 4 – Once totally dry, transfer your barley pieces into a blender and pulse a few times, and then set the blender to low speed.
Step 5 – Blend the barley until it has completely turned into a fine powder, and then pour it into a sealable container and store it for up to 1 month.
Notes
Makes 4 servings.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
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