Malted Barley == Sprouted Grain?

[JetSmooth]

So my wife and I are embarking on an overhaul of our eating habits. This isn't a diet, but a shift away from a lot of processed and white-starchy junk to a more "whole food" approach. We have the blendtec blender on the way (It Blends!) and have been eating pretty well for some time now. She was a vegetarian while we were dating and up until the Turtle (our 8 month old) was conceived.

We were looking to get away from commercial breads. I suggested she bake with my spent grains, but storing them was a pain as it cramped our little freezer (check freezer is on our list).

She recently came upon an article that suggested some recipies for "sprouted grains". Sounds a lot like malt to me. What's the difference? This may be a way to get her to use the spent brewing grains.

 

[frazier]

Why use spent grains though? Have you tasted them? I mean take a spoonful and try it. They're not really fit for eating, IMHO. Way too much hull. All the tasty goodness has bee removed by the mash.

But if you really like the way spent grains taste, go ahead.

 

[Beerrific]

Probably the difference is that the sprouted grain is allowed to grow more than the malting process. In malting it is ideal to stop the sprouting right when the "sprout" pokes its head out of the grain.

What makes sprouted grain good (better?) for you by the way?

Spent grain has a decent nutritional value. It has some protein and little sugar. But, maybe what is best for you is the fiber content. The later reason also prevents you from eating much. If you are going to bake bread with it, you don't need all that much, you will have to use essentially just as much flour. The grain just adds fiber/texture. It will also keep in the fridge for a couple days...brew on Saturday, make bread on Sunday.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

Why use spent grains though? Have you tasted them? I mean take a spoonful and try it. They're not really fit for eating, IMHO. Way too much hull. All the tasty goodness has bee removed by the mash.

But if you really like the way spent grains taste, go ahead.

Actually, lots of people bake with spent grains. There are several recipes on home brew talk featuring spent grain.

To the OP, sounds like malt to me. Oh, and here's a spent grain bread recipe.