As you well know, I’m a fan of the art of homebrewing, and thus frequently end up with between 15 and 25 lbs of soggy malted barley which ends up in the compost pile. This is a really good thing for my garden, but I am always also thinking of what else I could be doing with this ‘mildly used’ grain.

So, on my most recent batch, I put together a basic recipe for a ‘spent grain bread’. I didn’t find any basic recipes that I really liked, so this was my attempt at one of my own. It takes a little of this, a little of that, and mixes it all together into a slightly sweet, very delicious bread. Here’s the recipe for you all.

1.5 packets active dry yeast
1.5 cups warm water and pinch of sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour
4-5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 cups spent grain (still damp)
2 Tbsp molasses
1/2 tsp salt

Mix the dry yeast, the warm water and the pinch of sugar together and allow it to form a foam on top indicating that the yeast has been activated.

Add the spent grain, wheat flour, molasses, and salt to the water/yeast mixture. Mix thoroughly, and being adding flour, 1/2 cup at a time until dough just pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead by hand or with a bread hook until dough is smooth.

Allow dough to rise until doubled in volume. Turn dough and deflate. Form into desired loaf shapes, and allow to rise a second time until again doubled in volume.

Bake on a pizza stone pre-heated to 425 in a 350F oven for 15-25 minutes (depending on loaf size).

Slice, devour, and enjoy.