Two Rooks' Spent Grain Bread

[Llysse]

Two Rooks' Spent Grain Bread
(for 1.5 pound loaf)

• 1 c room temperature water (be sure to adjust the amount as necessary, depending on how wet your spent grains are)
• 4 tbsp buckwheat honey
• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 c spent grains (still warm)
• 1 c wheat flour
• 2 1/2 c bread flour
• 2 tsp yeast

This version used grain left over from our Barn Swallow Barleywine, including Maris Otter Crystal 55, Carapils and Victory. It has a flaky, thick crust, and inside, an incredibly springy, sponge-like texture... possibly due to the dextrins in the Carapils.

If you have a choice on your bread machine, use the setting that gives you the longest rising period and the darkest crust setting. If making by hand, be sure to allow plenty of time for all rising periods, and bake at ~25 F hotter than you normally would.

 

[markcurling]

Wow that looks good, does the flavour of the grains come through?

One would hope the level of tastiness of the bread is not an indication of the level of inefficiency in the brewing!

 

[Llysse]

With this one, the crystal added nice caramel notes, and the Victory came through very strongly so there was an incredible toastiness, not only to the crust but even to the spongy center. I'm sure it would depend on which grains you use, though. I'm so furious at myself for not freezing additional grains for more loaves later!

I highly recommend making this bread whenever you brew with Victory. But... I love that malt in particular, anyway, so maybe it's a just good idea to make the bread whenever you brew with your own favorite grains. The flavor does come through.

So, yesterday afternoon while we were finishing up brewing our barleywine, we were also drinking barleywine (our last batch) and eating bread made with the barleywine grains. Talk about a perfect food pairing! It was really interesting to identify the how the flavors expressed themselves in both.