Stained glass Christmas cookies prepared using naked, or hulless, barley, at Oregon State University.

Oregon State University researchers are exploring potential uses for naked, or hulless, barley in cookies and other desserts, as a way to ultimately help farmers diversify their crops.

Andrew Ross, OSU professor of cereal chemistry, shared on Facebook photos of Christmas cookies made using barley flakes, using an oatmeal cookie recipe, and other cookies made using barley flour.

“Barley hasn’t really been used as a food, at least in North America, in any sort of large scale, for a very long time, if it ever was,” Ross told the Capital Press.

Historically, it’s been important in northern Europe. Today, it’s primarily used in the Ethiopian highlands and the Himalayas mountain range in Asia, he said.

The Christmas baking is part of a larger research project to develop multi-use naked barley for organic systems, led by OSU assistant professor Brigid Meints. Researchers from Cornell, University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Minnesota are also participating

The project received $2 million in funding from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture in 2017 and 2020, and nearly $3.5 million this year for another three years.

Ross’ role is to consider food uses for naked barley.

“We’ve been making all sorts of cakes, tarts and pastries,” he said.

He’s also made tortillas using 100% naked barley, shortbread and chocolate chip cookies using barley flour instead of wheat flour. 

Ross and his wife, Elizabeth, made cookies in OSU’s recently upgraded research bakery facility, made possible through funding and other support from the Oregon Wheat Commission.

Baking adjustments

Naked barley is enriched in soluble fiber when used as a whole grain.

A chef might have to make some adjustments to a batch when using barley, Ross said.

He’s added baking powder to shortbread, and water to make the dough workable, depending on the product.

“One of the things with adding barley as a flour in products typically made with refined wheat flour, the barley flour is really thirsty, partly as a function of its fiber content,” he said.

Ross likens it to the normal adjustments for water a baker might make in any bag of flour, or switching from refined flour to whole-grain flour.

Next steps

The cookies Ross shared pictures of on social media were enjoyed in-person with other members of OSU’s wheat and barley breeding programs as part of year-end holiday celebrations, he said.

He isn’t working on product development with any companies at this point. That’s further down the road, he said.

Eventually, naked barley might be an option to help farmers diversify part of their acreage, Ross said.

“But I don’t want to overpromise,” he said. “We have a lot of really foundational work to do.”

He’s working in conjunction with OSU’s barley breeders, who are studying new varieties in different locations and growing environments.

“The ones that maybe I liked because of their processing performance, maybe they lodge or have poor disease resistance or low yield, or all three, any combination of the above,” he said with a rueful chuckle. “We’re still in parallel trying to do a lot of that foundational work that would really give us a good base in which to advise people about the uses and pitfalls.”