Toasted pearled barley - to soak or not?

I toasted some pearled barley tonight and I plan to cook it tomorrow morning. Should I soak it overnight? How about cooking - steam or boil - what will keep the rich toasted flavour better?

trampledbygeese
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4 Comments

trampledbygeese November 29, 2014
Thanks guys. I've never worked with pearled barley before, so I wasn't sure if it needed a good soak like regular barley. Good to know about it going grey when soaked.

Don't suppose you know, but would steaming or boiling keep the toasted taste better? Texture doesn't matter as it's going in a miso ferment, but I just wanted to get that toasted barley flavour in there without going to the bother of growing barley koji.
 
nutcakes November 28, 2014
I never soak pearled barley, it doesn't take that long to cook.
 
Susan W. November 28, 2014
If it's pearled, then it's not whole grain. The soaking will shave off 1/2 the cooking time, but your barley will turn a little gray. I probably wouldn't soak it.

On this site, there is an article about the best way to cook different rices. I kind of remember barley being included. It's been forever since I've cooked barley, so I'm no help there.
 
Susan W. November 28, 2014
I just found the article and it's only about rice. Barley isn't mentioned.
 
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