boil or steep grain?

my kit says to bring water to a boil add grain and boil for 20 minutes but a read of a lot of people steeping the grain and not boiling it what should I do and for how long thanks.

You definitely don't want to boil your grains. You'll end up with off flavors if you do that. Rather, steep them for 20-30 minutes in water that's around 155 F or so. That way you'll extract the flavors and colors properly with no off flavors.

Definitely steep! If you boil you will extract bitter tannins from the husks of the grains.

What I usually do is put the grains in 50F water on the stove and let them sit as I raise the temp up to boiling. Once it gets up to about 175 or so I take them out and continue raising the temp up to boiling.

Another option would be to get the water to 160-17F and hold that temp for about a half hour as you steep them.

Homer beat me to it.

thanks also it says to add the bittering hops and boil with the grain so do I just add them to the steep?

Add the hops to the boiling water after you steep the grain.

Steep grains for 30 minutes @ 150-158, remove grains,bring wort to a boil and add your bittering hops once you get a boil and boil for 60 minutes (or however long it says to boil it for). What kind of beer are you making and is there more than one hope addition?