homemade barley cereal

[Sweetum]

I bought pearled barley wanting to make homemade cereal for DS. But when I went to wholesomebabyfood.com (great site, btw) looking to read how to make the cereal, it didn't say to wash the barley before grinding it to a powder. I'm in the habit of washing grains before I cook them, and I would definitely want to do that with DS' food. Any ideas/tips how to go about this?

TIA
SunshineAndMe

[Pepper]

How have you been preparing cereal so far? I think you could just rinse the barley and let it drain, then spread it out on paper towels to dry completely before you grind it to a powder. Or, you could spread the rinsed barley out on a baking sheet with a rim and dry it in the oven set to 250-300 degrees F.

I didn't wash barley, pearled barley has had the hull removed so i think it has already been washed to some extent. Actually, I didn't wash any of the other grains, either, but I'd cook them for a long time until they started to fall apart. Since I was at home full-time it was easier for me to keep an eye on the stove and add more water as needed, than to grind the grains into powders.

[Sweetum]

Washing and drying/over-drying is a great idea! thanks so much...

I've been buying rice and oatmeal cereal, and so didn't have to wash anything. But I couldn't get Barley cereal in earth's best brand (which is what I use). So, I'm making my own.

Thanks again.
SunshineAndMe