What do I do with my grains?

[unionrdr]

Well,the way the posts are written,it reads like a "troll post". After reading that thread in the other forum,that was my gut reaction.
Anyway,Yes,flour is generally made with the starchy part we convert to sugars. but what's weird to me is the fact that it's still there in the middle. I see it grinding the dried grains into flour in my Mr Coffee burr grinder. Idk if you've seen them at Walmart,but they're intended to do some 18 different grinds on coffee beans. once I read they were "burr" grinders (think mini adjustable grain mill),It made me go hmmm. And the espresso setting (finest one) does a medium fine grind that works rather well.
It's just a paradox to me why we get so many sugars out of them,but much of the center remains? And yes,the husks are still there,but ground up like what you see in whole grain bread. I first saw this with my spent grain pretzel buns;
http://[URL=http://s563.photobucket.com/user/unionrdr/media/PICT0001_zpsbd329434.jpg.html] [/URL]
You can just see them in this pic. The IPA grains I ground & used gave it a beautifull light rye color,kind of a light creamy brown. The flavor was similar to that kind of rye as well. But lighter,since it was 1C spen grain flour to 5C wheat flour. Easy to bite through & chew,even as pretzel bread. You can use the flour in cupcakes,biscuits,focatia,pizza dough,even falafel! Here's a link to brooklyn brewries spent grain chef page,which is updated too; http://brooklynbrewshop.com/themash/category/spentgrainchef/
A look at these recipes should give you an idea of how they work out when properly "reused". Pics of each too. Whatever it is that's left,seems to be of some substance,since they work so well to flavor & color baked goods. They give some substance in order to do this,as can be seen in the recipe pics. Flavors & colors are dependant,of course,on the combination of grains used for the wort then dried. I label the bags for what beer was made from them. IPA,wheat,pale ale,etc. The stout grains can be used to make a pumpernickel. I hope this sheds some light on the subject. They're darn good used for baking.

 

[BadMrFrosty]

I do smallish all grain batches and usually use about 3kg (~6lb) of grain. I dry about half the spent grain in the oven and use it in bread making. The secret is not to use too much, after plenty of experiments I have found a 6 to 1 ratio of plain flour to dried grain works very well and tastes fantastic. Not just OK for spent grain but truly great bread, I make it 3-4 times a week.

I have also tried making flapjack which also works very well, again don't overdo it with the grain. I made the falafel mentioned earlier except baked instead of deep fried, another tasty use. Even after drying and making things I always have more grain than I can use, I don't think its practical to use every last bit.

 

[Rahahb]

Now that my son has chickens, I let them have them.

But I have made dog treats, bread, and composted them.

 

[plainbrad]

I feed mine to the horses.

I had heard that spent grains were not good for horses. Cows and chickens are ok but I was told horses don't digest them very well and can get bound up in their digestive track.

 

[BeerGrylls]

I had heard that spent grains were not good for horses. Cows and chickens are ok but I was told horses don't digest them very well and can get bound up in their digestive track.

source please.. considering giving to my future sister-in-law's horse.

 

[rdneckbrew]

My pigs love the spent grains.

 

[Brewmex41]

source please.. considering giving to my future sister-in-law's horse.

I love your hbt name lol that is all.



I used to scoop mine into ziploc bags and toss in the freezer, then I read it takes hours to dry them so I tossed them.
But I think next time I will try and dry some to use for baking. I've recently got into pairing beer and cheeses, I think pairing beer with baked goods will be another step.
I love caramelizing amber ales into a glaze for coffee cakes and such, maybe a spent grain coffee cake will be my first attempt

 

[unionrdr]

I think they'd work well for coffee cakes,since not all the sugery wort gets rinsed out. My buns stuck to the oiled sheet during baking. So there's def some sweet sticky goodness in there. Makes me wanna dig out that raised amish coffee cake recipe & try it this way. The story goes that they make it to take to another persons house when visiting. Or wakes & such. Their funeral (raisin) pie might be good with spent grain crust.