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alha said:
Quick question from a newb who just stumbled across this thread. I have my view set to max # per page, and for me it shows 29 pages, and 1151 posts, and really would prefer to not have to go back thru the whole lot of them so if someone could answer a couple quick questions I would appreciate it.

I enjoy cooking, and have even done a little baking, and since this is a bread thread in a beer making forum, would I be correct in presuming that people are utilizing their spent grains by making bread out of them? If I delved back into the bowels of this thread, would I find many suggestions as to the hows and whys of the process, from the kettle to the bread pan?

I think it is a great way to reuse and not waste material, and make something yummy in the process. If this is a more 'look what I made' thread, are there any others that stand out in regards to the process? Thanks guys, I love this forum!
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I have tried the drying and pulverizing spent grains in a food processor and it was a pain. Using them in recipes, I have generally found the spent grains to be too rough. But I have made several batches of dog treats and they are really loved by the pups.
 
Ahh, then my supposition was incorrect for the most part, actually the used grains are occasionally used as flavoring, but mostly not for the flour itself? Well, I know it would add a bit of work to the process, drying them and all that, so this is just another skill that brewers are exercising it appears. :) Nuthin' wrong with that!
 
alha said:
Ahh, then my supposition was incorrect for the most part, actually the used grains are occasionally used as flavoring, but mostly not for the flour itself? Well, I know it would add a bit of work to the process, drying them and all that, so this is just another skill that brewers are exercising it appears. :) Nuthin' wrong with that!
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As described above by others, drying and grinding to flour is possible. It's been my experience though that the loss of starches and sugars make it not great in any more than half the regular flour. It's good for the fiber and protein, though.
 
They do ad some flavor & color as well. but how much flavor depends on how well they were drained & sparged to begin with. And I use no more than 1/4 too 1/3 the total amount of flour in regard to spent grain flour. I use my Mr coffee burr grinder on the finest espresso setting to get a nice flour grind.
 
alha said:
Quick question from a newb who just stumbled across this thread. I have my view set to max # per page, and for me it shows 29 pages, and 1151 posts, and really would prefer to not have to go back thru the whole lot of them so if someone could answer a couple quick questions I would appreciate it.

I enjoy cooking, and have even done a little baking, and since this is a bread thread in a beer making forum, would I be correct in presuming that people are utilizing their spent grains by making bread out of them? If I delved back into the bowels of this thread, would I find many suggestions as to the hows and whys of the process, from the kettle to the bread pan?

I think it is a great way to reuse and not waste material, and make something yummy in the process. If this is a more 'look what I made' thread, are there any others that stand out in regards to the process? Thanks guys, I love this forum!
Click to expand...

slym2none said:
10% doesn't seem like a lot...
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Agreed, 10% is hardly enough to call it "spent grain" bread.

I often make bread using 70-80% spent grain (still wet) and 30-20% bread flour. They're "no-knead" breads of course, very wholesome, and so good! A small neighborhood bakery in Amsterdam (NL) made breads similar to those, they were called "Kellogh" (sp?). A 12 pound grain bill easily yields 8 loafs.

I find drying spent grains in the oven a total waste of time and energy. I just chuck them in a plastic bag in the fridge or in large 42oz plastic "cottage cheese" containers in the freezer if I don't intend to use them within a few days.

If you let the grains sour a bit it's even better.
 
I freeze them in plastic until I need them. I put about a cup into a loaf (so like 2 cups flour and a cup of grains, something like that). I think you wouldn't get enough gluten development to make a very good loaf if it was mostly spent grain - like whole wheat that is crumbly.

Even at 10%, it's adding some additional grain and fiber to the bread, and it's using something that would be thrown away.
 
SeraW said:
As described above by others, drying and grinding to flour is possible. It's been my experience though that the loss of starches and sugars make it not great in any more than half the regular flour. It's good for the fiber and protein, though.
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Interesting that you can go even half that high of a % with spent grain. I have been using malted wheat, which I mix with my wheat berries and grind. But if I use more than about 7% malted wheat it doesn't bake very well and the middle remains doughy.

Is the gluten still there, after mashing, to allow for good structure or does using more than say 25% spent grain flour make a heavy bread?
 
My last loaf was 50% 2-row, 25% wheat, & 25% rye for the spent grain portion. One of my next beers I have planned uses only Golden Promise, and I am definitely going to be making another recipe using that.

Anyone who makes lots of SG bread, do you find different malts give the breads different flavours?
 
slym2none said:
My last loaf was 50% 2-row, 25% wheat, & 25% rye for the spent grain portion. One of my next beers I have planned uses only Golden Promise, and I am definitely going to be making another recipe using that.

Anyone who makes lots of SG bread, do you find different malts give the breads different flavours?
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Roasted barley is a little too harsh for bread, in my opinion.
 
Doing some cleaning yesterday and found my old Hitachi bread baker...made an easy whole wheat loaf. Not the therapeutic process that baking by hand is, but tasty. Working on more Chinese sausage baked buns (second time making these...photos a few pages back). Waiting for first dough rise, filling is made and ready. I still want to try steamed buns...going to Asian market tonight for takeout. If bamboo steamers are cheap. I might just pick one up. I know I have two somewhere, but can't locate them. Probably buried in storage somewhere.
 
After working out of town for a few weeks the first thing I did was feed my starter and get back at it

feb23.jpg
 
I think I may try salt rising bread again soon. It's hard to get, except by expensive mail-order. Unfortunately, it isn't easy to get a consistently successful result. I'll look at my notes from a few years ago and maybe try to get a starter going.
 
Got the starter going for my Salt Rising Bread, successfully...I think. It's basically sliced potatoes and cornmeal in warm water with a little flour and a bit of sugar covered and warm until it's foaming...about 20-24 hours. Started the sponge...drain and discard the spuds, add flour, scalded milk, a little baking soda and a little more sugar to the starter. Covered and warm, up to 4 more hours, until doubled. Need to run by the store and get more bread flour to make the dough later. The recipe make three good sized loaves...I have to mix the sponge and dough ingredients in a big roasting pan, because I don't have a big enough bowl! At any time in the process, if the starter doesn't foam or the sponge or dough do not rise, there's nothing to do but toss it. I've tried salvaging, but it doesn't work. But I am encouraged, so far.

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Everything looked good on the salt rising bread, from starter, to sponge...plenty of foaming activity...got the dough made, kneaded, and in the loaf pans. Two hours to rise in the pan...and this is why salt rising bread is so frustrating... Very little activity in the pans. All that work may be for nothing. I'll give them a while longer, but hope is dwindling.

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Well, they never did rise substantially. A little, but not much. I'm going to go ahead and bake them and see what happens when the heat hits 'em. Might wind up being very labor intensive croutons or bread crumbs.

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Well,*moderate* success. There's a bit of a rise. The directions specifically not to slash the top. Maybe a more experienced baker might know why not to slash and why I get these cracks? Not kneaded enough? I don't know that it is a bad thing, except it may mess with slicing neatly. A sample slice tastes a little sweeter than I anticipated, but not quite as funky as it should. I can pick-up that little bit of cornmeal flavor. Must need to get that temp stable for the starter and sponge and ferment a little longer. It's edible, though not really what I think of for Salt Rising Bread. Now...sleep! 5:25 a.m. for waking the middle school girl to prepare for school is going to feel pretty rude, especially if she's in a mood.

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It might crack because there isn't enough gluten formed & the dough doesn't stretch, it just breaks.

Just an idea.
 
Well, woke up feeling crappy, with a sore throat and cough. Even though it wasn't as funky as it should be, the salt rising bread toast and coffee were welcome. I've seen recipes that call for AP flour, instead of bread flour. Since this a lot of dough, and I can't use the Kitchenaid w/dough hook, maybe I should switch and check the results.
 
Two tasty but different breads that I made on the same day. Expecting a snow storm so Ill have the oven running and more bread to come!

bread 29a.jpg


bread 29b.jpg


bread 29c.jpg
 
Is a big enough oven an important factor in baking bread? The majority of ovens in China are glorified toaster ovens and every time I try to do bread, the outside crisps up nicely while the middle of the loaf is still basically dough. I'm putting ice water on the bottom rack like many recipes call for and baking the bread on the middle rack of my oven, which is roughly 15 inches wide, 12 inches deep, and 10 inches tall, and even if I bake for twice the time recommended on the recipe, the center of the loaf is always doughy. Is this a temperature issue, an oven size issue, a leavening issue, or something else?
 
Trying an experiment with increased hydration on a traditional levain style bread. One almost 80 percent, and the other 72 percent. I usually use 63 percent. I started the dough at 9 this morning. I'm shaping the loaves at 1 am, then retarding them until morning when I'll proof and bake them.
 
FatDragon said:
Is a big enough oven an important factor in baking bread? The majority of ovens in China are glorified toaster ovens and every time I try to do bread, the outside crisps up nicely while the middle of the loaf is still basically dough. I'm putting ice water on the bottom rack like many recipes call for and baking the bread on the middle rack of my oven, which is roughly 15 inches wide, 12 inches deep, and 10 inches tall, and even if I bake for twice the time recommended on the recipe, the center of the loaf is always doughy. Is this a temperature issue, an oven size issue, a leavening issue, or something else?
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Check that your oven temp is accurate first. Then check the temp isn't fluctuating a bunch.

I bake my sourdough in a cast iron dutch oven because it keeps temps even. I'd use something like that if you can fit it in the oven.

Than maybe recipe.
 
Just watched a show on Netflix called "Cooked"
Episode 4 is called "Air" its a great documentary on bread.
I highly recommend you give it a look if you have the time.

Cam
 
A sourdough white/rye I made for this month's home-brew club meeting.

(If I don't bring a loaf of sourdough, too many club members ask me why I didn't bring any bread)

Sometimes, I make hummus to spread on it, which is also good.

Ack! The board software is rotating the picture.

2016-03-04 18.45.32.jpg
 

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