sprouting barley

[exurb]

I grow barley grass all the time, but I've never done the sprouted barley grains, as in the kind some recipes use for meat loafs, burgers, etc.

I'm wondering what kind of barley I have to buy to do this, also how long to sprout?

For the barley grass I have the really rough barley, with the hard scratchy hull still on it (not right for a loaf or burger). Do I have to find some special hulled barley groat, or by some miracle is the barley they sell at the store raw(pot barley?).

Also do they taste good or are they really gross and I should save my time. I ordered some beautiful looking Kamut groats to sprout, then when I tasted them it was like ewwww.

[Sharon in Colorado]

Oh my goodness, I'm doing this right now. I'm actually attempting to 'malt' it to give it a sweet flavor.

I used hulled barley, hopefully it's raw. It has a green tint so I believe it is. I soaked it overnight. I will know in another day if it starts to sprout. It's so cold here, I have it near a heater.

As soon as I see a little tail, I am going to halt the sprouting process and dehydrate them. Then I'm planning on making some pizza bread with it.

Will keep you posted.

[ReneeSC]

I've done organic barley. It did just fine. It took ..oh, about 3 days for them to sprout in my house. That was during the warmer months...so.. I dunno how that would work in a cooler winter month. ( I did mine on the counter ).

The label on the container where I purchased my barley only said it was organic, whole ( unhulled) barley.

[Sharon in Colorado]

My barley is "barely" starting to sprout. I don't want it to go too long, then it has a beanie taste to it. I'm going to do a pizza crust - I got dh to save me his carrot dust from the juicer.

[exurb]

Sharon, how long do you think is right - do you go til the tail is as long as the grain or less?

[Sharon in Colorado]

The little tail was about 1/8-1/4 the size of the grain when I halted the process. There was a sweet smell to it so that's when I did it. I figured that was as close to malting it as I was going to get!

I think you have to follow your nose when you do this. I think that is the mistake I did when sprouting chickpeas/garbanzos for hummus. I let it grow too much, it no longer smelled sweet and it tasted way too beany/sprouty.

[margi]

I wanted to sprout some barley for the chili recipe in Alissa's book. But it calls for 4 cups and I have a little sprouting jar that maybe holds 1/4 c at most. What device could I use to sprout the barley? I have glass bowls but they are too heavy and wouldnt be able to be propped up.

[ReneeSC]

margie, use a bowl - just a plain old bowl. Soak in the bowl... drain, rinse.. etc.. and then kinda swish the grains up the side of the bowl to get a bit more air. i actually use mesh collandars for sprouting after soaking for the air circulation.

[margi]

ooo good idea about the mesh colanders!! thanks renee!

[CAdreamer]

I use mesh colanders all the time, after first soaking in a bowl.