Why wait until late in boil to add of DME?

I see one of the extract recipes for a pilsner (Saphir Pils) calls for 2# DME for 60 min. then 3# DME for 10 min. Why would you wait so long to add most of the DME? I thought the whole idea of the boiling process was to make good things happen to/in the wort?

 

So the wort will stay lighter. It's already sterile.

 

DME and LME are resulting products of mashing grain and boiling it then removing the water leaving the fermentables in a powdered form. Boiling it again can, usually does, cause it to darken slightly (caramelization if I remember right) and if too much it will reduce the attenuation and possibly have burnt flavors.

Since hop utilization is different at different SG readings be sure to adjust how much is added at what time.

 

Thanks. So because it was boiled already the hot-break stuff and coagulation of proteins has already been done for you? Probably a dumb question - just trying to understand...

 

Extract will darken some when doing partial boils. If you are doing full boil then adding all at one time should be fine. Since I have gone full boil my beers stay nice and light even when adding it all at one time.

 

Yep that's basically it from my understanding

 

Since not much has to happen to the DME except for being dissolved, you can get more out of your hops if the wort gravity is lower when they are added.