Ingredient Information

Function

Malted Barley Flour improves the flavor and appearance of yeast breads. Malted Barley Flour also prolongs the shelf life of baked goods. Malted Barley Flour is a fine powder made by grinding whole barley grain. Along with many other flours, it can be used to replace part of the wheat flour in a recipe for a different flavor and texture. Barley flour can also be used in other cooking applications, such as acting as a thickener in soups and sauces. Many natural foods stores carry barley flour, and it can also be made at home.

Malted Barley Flour is also known as Diastatic Malt. 162 gm of Diastatic Malt contains 127 gm of carbohydrates, 3 gm of fat and 17gm of protein.

Other Use and Industries

Barley is applied to the skin for treating boils.

Health Effects

Barley is used for lowering blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol, and for promoting weight loss. It is also used for digestive complaints including diarrhea, stomach pain, and inflammatory bowel conditions. Some people use barley for increasing strength and endurance. It is low in saturated fats, cholesterol and sodium, and hence good for heart health. It is also a good source of minerals like manganese and selenium. It contains tannins that may cause allergic reactions in people who are specifically allergic to tannins. Barley might lower blood sugar levels. There is a concern that it might interfere with blood sugar control during and after surgery. The gluten in barley is a concern for anyone with celiac disease worse.

Malted barley flour is rich in carbohydrates but not in sugar.

Origins

To make malted barley flour, they soak the grain and sprout it, just enough to turn some of the starch into sugar. Then they stop the growth of the barley sprouts by roasting them at a low temperature. At this point the barley has been 'malted'. You can buy malted barley at any beer-making supply store. They then crush the malted barley by grinding it coarsely. The soluble (fermentable) sugars are extracted from the grain, along with some other soluble carbohydrates (which give beer body), and some gluten. Malting of Barley was first done by the Europeans. To make the flour, first the bran and the husk are removed from the grains. Malting this removes sugar. Then grains are steam dried, milled and sifted to produce malted barley flour.