A question about a recipe: Power Bread

I have a question about step 1 on the recipe "Power Bread" from boulangere. It says:

"Place barley, kamut, and buckwheat groats in saucepans with ample water to cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover pot, and cook until not quite done through. They still want to be a bit toothy when you take them off the heat so that they retain their integrity in the dough. Kamut will take the longest, about 1/2 hour; barley about 15 minutes; and buckwheat groats about 10. When done, strain off water and allow to cool a bit before adding to the dough."

Head2Tail
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Power Bread
Recipe question for: Power Bread

2 Comments

boulangere March 29, 2011
Hi Head2Tail, I developed the recipe for Power Bread. The spent grains I get from my brewer friend make AMAZING bread! The grains (whatever mix he happens to have used) are intact, so their fiber value is excellent, as is the flavor. Use whatever measurement that grosses up to the total of the barley, kamut, and buckwheat and replace those three with his grains. The one caveat is to be sure to rinse them, then bring them to a boil in water to cover. Boil just for 30 seconds or so, then drain, rinse under cold water until they are cooled enough to go into bread, and press a lot of the water out of them with your hand. You need to kill off the yeasts remaining from the brewing process. I learned this the hard way during recipe development. I produced a few batches that climbed out of the bowl and making their way towards the cats before I realized that the grains needed to be actually briefly boiled, not just rinsed under hot water. Give it a try and let me know how you like it! Seriously, it was so popular at the bakery where I developed it that people would call ahead to order loaves on its bake day.
 
spiffypaws March 29, 2011
If your question is about a bread recipe using spent grains from the brewing process, I don't recommend it. There is a recipe out there, but my boyfriend, a prolific home brewer says that he has heard from many people that it tastes horrible. If the brewer did his or her job properly, there is very little residual value in the grains after brewing. I think commercially the spent grains are sometimes fed to cattle; we've used them as mulch on our plants.
 
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