How to Cook with Barley

Barley has a wonderful nutty flavour and appealing chewy texture. Cooking and baking with barley is very straightforward.

Pearled and Pot Barley:

This type of barley can be cooked on a stovetop, in a rice cooker, instapot, slowcooker or the oven. 1/2 cup (125 mL) of cooked pearl barley provides an impressive 60 percent of the heart-healthy fibre shown to help lower cholesterol. It’s also a great grain for batch cooking and freezing—making it a helpful time-saver. Cook barley like you would brown rice in a rice cooker or instant pot.

For stovetop:

• Bring a pot of water to a boil and add 1 cup of barley
• Reduce the heat to low and let simmer. Cover and cook until chewy and tender, about 50-60 minutes.
• Drain and use.

Use pearled or pot barley in stews, soups, chili, salads, casseroles and pilafs.

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Other Barley Options

In your kitchen, you can also cook with barley flour, flakes and grits. Barley flour makes delicious baked goods.

Barley Flour:

Barley flour is wonderfully adaptive and light with nutrition and flavour to spare. Versatile barley flour is higher in fibre – both soluble and insoluble – and lower in calories than wheat flour, and its rustic nature makes it ideal for breads, muffins, quick breads, bars and cookies, though not so much for a delicate angel food cake.

• Dredging or frying: For a golden crust, season barley flour with salt, pepper, and dried herbs then use it to dredge (coat) fish and meats before frying in canola oil. Try barley flour instead of wheat flour in deep- or shallow-fried fritters and patties, too.
• Yeast Bread: Barley flour is too low in gluten to provide all the lift we need, so go half-and-half wheat and barley flour. Try this recipe for Best Barley Bread.
• Homemade pasta: pasta need some gluten to keep them together in the cooking liquid, and since barley flour is lower in gluten than wheaten flour, go half-and-half barley and wheat or semolina flour; adding an egg will also help bind the dough.
• Baking: Mix barley flour with oats, brown sugar, and butter for a delicious, crunchy, and fiber-rich fruit crisp topping. Use this mix to stuff cored apples for baking, too. For cookies, muffins, pancakes and waffles, switch out wheat flour for barely flour, one to one. No need to adjust, and prepare to enjoy a richer, nuttier, healthier result. 
• Thickener: Try using barley flour to make a roux for a cheese or cream sauce.

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