Spent Grain Bread (Made From Home Brew Leftovers)

This Spent Grain Bread is the perfect example of why Steve and I are a good pair together. He home brews beer, and gives me his leftover grain to bake bread. After his most recent brew, an Imperial IPA, he handed over a big batch of barley, and said, "Woman, make me some bread!" Well he didn't actually use that exact phrasing, but that's how I amusedly imagined the moment.

If you are a home brewer (or know a home brewer), don't throw out all the grain from your mash! Use it to make some hearty, whole-grain bread. Whole grains are good for you. Baking bread is good for you.

I kid you not about the heartiness of this bread. It's straight out of Game of Thrones. It is dense, and slightly sweet. We ate it toasted with orange marmalade, or made into sandwiches. I still have nearly 2 cups of grain leftover, and may turn it into muffins.

Spent Grain Bread (slightly adapted from The Clean Platter)

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Ingredients:

2 cups spent grain from all-grain mash (blended into a pulp in a food processor), measured after processing
4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup water, heated to about 110 degrees
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions:

Mix the water, yeast, honey, and vegetable oil in a measuring cup, and let sit for 5 minutes. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine grain pulp, 4 cups of flour, and salt. Mix at low speed until combined, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in liquid ingredients. Continue to mix until combined, about 2 minutes. Dough should come together in a ball. If it's sticky, add 2-3 tablespoons of flour, one tablespoon at a time. Transfer the dough to a flat surface, and knead with hands a few times. Lightly oil a large bowl, and place dough in. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours. Punch dough down, and transfer to a greased 9-inch loaf pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise for another 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Gently remove plastic wrap, and bake bread for 50 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then transfer loaf to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Makes 1 loaf.