Bob that sounds like an awesome idea. I'd love to hear how to do it, as I don't really have an idea of how to make bread. Do you know about how much flour, spent grain, water, yeast, etc. to use?
Pretty easy, actually. I use the recipe from
7 Bridges Organics website:
Quick Bread
1 T. Sucanat or unrefined sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. yeast slurry
1 T. butter
1 cup lukewarm water
4 cup whole wheat flour
2 cup spent grains
Mix together sugar, salt, margarine, and grains until crumbly. Mix in lukewarm water. Add yeast. Start adding flour and mixing. Once the dough becomes too large or unwieldy to use mixing tools, start kneading on a floured surface.
The key to good bread is kneading -
lots of kneading. My auntie, God rest her, taught me to bake bread. She used to tell me, "Bob, I never once raised my voice to my husband or my children. But we always had good, fresh bread." She used to beat the hell out of her bread. You do the math.
The reason you knead is to set up the gluten strands in the wheat. That, in conjunction with the CO2 produced by the yeast, makes bread light and fluffy instead of a big lump (like Irish soda bread).
Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Because you're using slurry, this bread will rise like a rocket. Keep an eye on it.
The ingredient amounts will probably provide enough dough for two loaves. Shape into loaves and put into greased pans. Baste the tops with melted butter. Bake 450F for about a half hour.
You can omit the yeast and make a decent flatbread with spent grains, too, or use less yeast and make pizza crust.
Cheers!
Bob