Spent Grains

What to do with spent grains? I have always composted my grains and they do make a great addition to a compost pile, but I always felt I could find a more productive use for used grain. I have read that people make dog treats after adding peanut butter. I commonly bake with my spent grains to add a certain rustic/homestyle/healthy feel to my baked goods. Whenever I have a grain bill that isn't too heavy with roasted malts, I will pull out a portion and spread it across a sheet pan, put it in a 200 degree oven until completely dry. After it is cooled I throw it in a bag and drop it in the freezer. Try to remember to write on the bag what beer it is from with a sharpie.

I made bread the other night with some spent grain and thought I would share the recipe.

Tomato & Swiss Bread Recipe:

Ingredients:
3 Cups warm water
5 Cups bread flour
1 Cup whole wheat flour
1 tbs salt
1 tbs sugar
1.5 tbs yeast
3/4 Cups Swiss Cheese 1/4 C reserved
25 Cherry tomatoes halved
3 Cups used beer grain
Assorted spices I used granulated garlic, black pepper, oregano and parsley.

Add sugar and yeast to warm water in mixing bowl and wait ten minutes
Add salt, grain, cheese, tomatoes and spices--Mix gently
Slowly add flour while mixing until a partly sticky partly dry dough is formed
Turn onto floured surface and knead in more flour until desired consistency is reached
Place dough in oiled bowl and cover with wet towel
Put in 200 degree oven and turn off oven
When doubled remove from oven and separate into as many loafs as you would like (I got a pan loaf and two baguettes from this recipe)
Either form into rustic rounds, place in oiled loaf pan or flatten and jelly roll for french loaf
Place dough back in oven and wait until doubled again
Bake at 425 until top is set and sprinkle with reserved cheese return to oven until browned

This also makes a great pizza crust just do away with second rise and up the temp to 500 or so. It can also be put in the fridge for a few days to make a crispier crust.

The grains that don't go to bread now go to suppliment chicken feed, now that we have 53 chickens and one

guinea fowl. The yard birds think of them as a special treat and it saves a little on buying chicken feed. The organic wheat my father and I planted last week should help suppliment the chicken feed as well as my brewing.