Barley: growing and using it – from pearl barley to bread
Barley has been cultivated for thousands of years. Today most of it ends up as animal feed or in the malting house – but in the kitchen, as pearl barley, flakes and flour, it is a real asset.
Barley in the garden
- Spring and winter barley: Winter barley is sown in autumn, spring barley in spring
- In a home garden barley is more of a show bed than a pantry crop: worthwhile quantities need space, and threshing and dehulling are laborious without equipment
- Harvest: When the ears are golden yellow, bend downwards and the grains are hard
In the kitchen
- Pearl barley: Hulled and polished barley grains – in soups, stews or as "risotto"
- Flakes: In muesli or as a binder
- Malt: Germinated and dried barley is the basis for beer and malt extract
Barley in bread
Barley flour hardly forms a supporting gluten structure. A loaf made only from barley stays flat and dense; that is why barley flour is mixed with wheat or rye flour. It gives the bread a slightly sweet, nutty flavour.
Good to know
Barley contains gluten. For people with coeliac disease it is off the menu – just like wheat, spelt and rye; according to the German Coeliac Society, beer and malt beer are off limits too.
Storing
Barley flour, pearl barley and flakes are stored like other flour, dry at room temperature (BZfE (German Federal Centre for Nutrition), "Richtig lagern" (as of 20 Feb 2025)).
Sources
- German Coeliac Society (DZG): Welche Lebensmittel enthalten Gluten?, accessed 5 Oct 2026
- German Federal Centre for Nutrition (BZfE): Richtig lagern, as of 20 Feb 2025, accessed 5 Oct 2026
The sources support individual statements in this article. The organisations named have neither reviewed nor endorsed it.