what is it?
I dunno exactly...I guess you're "waking up" the proteins, but letting them "Rest" before they work?
not entirely sure what exactly the "Rest" means, but a lot of the wheat beers say to give the wheat a protein rest before begining the mash.
resting the wheat at 120-125 for the protein rest, then bring it up to 155 for the starch conversion.
wheat has a lot more protein than barley, which is why wheat beers are cloudy, and thus why you need to give the wheat a protein rest.
...but don't ask me what a protein rest actually means, or how the proteins are "resting"