Crushing Steeping Grains

OK, some I'm stepping out from my comfort zone of kits and building my first brew from a recipe (one of Papazian's brown ales). I ordered the steeping grains and realize now that they are whole. Per Papazian's Joy of Homebrewing, you can crush in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin. Is this effective? Also, how crushed should they be? I'm pretty sure pulverized is not the correct answer, but what should I be shooting for?

Finally, the recipe calls for half-pound of crystal malt and quarter-pound of black patent. I bought a pound of each and plan to only crush what I need. What's the best way to store the remainder?

Im a newb but they just have to be lightly crushed with a rolling pin or bottle or something. You DONT want them pulverized to a powder

Basically you want tocrush them enough to break the husks open and crack the insides. as far as storage of un crushed grains, you can store them in the bags/containers they come in. As long as they aren't crushed they should keep for about a year.

Make sure the plastic bag you use is of the thick and strong variety, like a freezer bag. With thin plastic the husks will poke little holes through it and what you get is a big mess.

My other advice is to crush small amounts at a time. With one layer of grain in the bag, you should only need to pass over it 2 or 3 times with the rolling pin. It's time consuming, but you'll get the job done.

Good luck.