Elbow macaroni?

[z-bob]

I've been reading some old threads about using [overcooked] thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta instead of flaked wheat to make witbier. It's cheaper than buying unmalted wheat and easier to use than flour.

Would macaroni be okay, or is it too thick to get good conversion without chopping it up? (I'm hoping it pretty-much dissolves in the mash)

I think I have a 2 lb box of macaroni in the pantry to use up.

My grain bill will be 1/3 pilsner malt, 1/3 wheat malt, and 1/3 pasta. Haven't quite figured out the hops yet, and if I want to add any orange and coriander.

 

[jtratcliff]

yup .. should be OK to use it lb for lb as unmalted wheat... you can do a cereal mash (AKA boil the pasta) for better use of the "unmalted wheat" ... It will gelatinize the starches and get more sugars into the mash

I've never done it, but there should be plenty of threads in here about using pasta in a mash...

 

[z-bob]

I'm planning to add 2.5 pounds of pasta (2 lbs elbow macaroni and a half pound of spaghetti) to about 4 gallons of hot water in my mash kettle and simmer it until it's swollen and gooey. Then add a couple of gallons of cold water (try to hit the strike temperature) and add the malt.

 

[z-bob]

I used 2.5 pounds of elbow macaroni. Simmered it in 4 gallons of water until it was mushy. Added cold water and *just* undershot my mash in temperature, so heated it up a bit and added the malt.

Everything worked great, except pasta doesn't absorb as much water as grain does, and I measured inaccurately on top of that, so I had an extra gallon to boil off. If I'd added the right amount of cold water the temperature would have probably been spot on.