Barley

Barley (Hulled)

Hordeum vulgare

9.5–13.5% protein (typ. 11.5%)2.5% dry gluten · 8% wetWeak gluten

Founding Neolithic crop; beer and bread

In the atlas

Barley may be the most culturally important grain humans ever grew: Sumerian beer rations, Roman gladiator fuel ('hordearii'), Highland bannocks, Tibetan tsampa. Hulled (covered) barley still has its bran after the inedible hull is removed. Pearl barley has been scoured — less fiber, faster cooking, paler flour.

Origin. Fertile Crescent — as old as einkorn

Flavor. Honey, malt, toasted hay.

Worth knowing

Hordein is the barley gluten-like protein. Not celiac-safe.
Beta-glucan fiber is the nutritional headline — heart-health research loves it.
Malt is just sprouted, dried barley; you can malt a jar on a counter.
For bread, 10–30% barley flour adds sweetness and a cake-like crumb.

Flours you can make

Flour	Extraction	Protein	Gluten	Notes
Whole-grain flour	100%	11.5%	2.5%	Everything the berry holds — bran, germ, and endosperm. Mill 1:1 by weight. Use within days, or freeze.
High-extraction (85%)	85%	11.3%	2.6%	Sift once through a #30–#40 sieve. Keeps most flavor and minerals, slightly stronger dough than 100%.
Light rye (sifted)	75%	11%	2.7%	Second sifting (#50–#60). Lighter crumb, longer shelf life, less fiber. Bran left behind is gold in porridge.

Nutrition / 100 g

Calories: 354 kcal
Protein: 11.5 g
Carbs: 73 g
Fiber: 17.3 g
Fat: 2.3 g
Iron: 3.6 mg
Magnesium: 133 mg
Zinc: 2.8 mg
Thiamin: 0.65 mg
Selenium: 38 µg

Typical whole-grain flour / 100 g.

Sources & USDA links

Buy it retail

Azure Standard (hulled)
Bob's Red Mill
Pleasant Hill Grain
Breadtopia
Great River Organic Milling
Farm co-ops

Availability rotates by harvest. Search the berry name plus “food grade.”

Bakes well as

BannocksMaltSoup berries10–25% bread blendsFlatbreads

Mill Barley (Hulled) now

Miller’s desk

Grain to flour

Whole grainFlour type

Flour you want (g)Blend a second grain

Vital wheat gluten booster

Target protein %Target gluten %VWG protein %

Most bags of vital wheat gluten are 75–80% protein. The booster is added on top of the flour, not swapped in.

Barley (Hulled)

Whole-grain flour · Weak gluten

Whole grain needed: 505 g
Flour you’ll get: 500 g
Bran left behind: 0 g
Protein in that flour: 57.5 g · 11.5%
Natural gluten: 2.5%
Add VWG: 12.1 g
After VWG: 13% protein · 4.1% gluten

About 2.7 cups of berries → 4.3 cups of whole-grain flour. Whole-grain milling is essentially 1:1 by weight; sifting is where you lose bran.

How to mill it

Buy hulled, not pearl, if you want the whole-grain story.

Medium. Pearl barley mills into a very pale flour.

Tempering: Skip.

Everything the berry holds — bran, germ, and endosperm. Mill 1:1 by weight. Use within days, or freeze.

Milling 101 →

Next: bake it

Pick a loaf for this flour

13% protein after VWG · Barley (Hulled) whole-grain flour. Sandwich loaf, focaccia, sourdough — the kitchen will scale dough, hydration, and times to this mix.