SC - beer bread, OOP

[Brett and Karen Williams]

> Date: Sun, 8 Feb 1998 23:36:37 -0500
> From: "R.A. Kappler II" <kappler at edgenet.net>
> Subject: SC - beer bread, OOP
> 
> 
> OK, I finished brewing my second ever all grain batch today, and took =
> the spent grains to make beer bread.  It was delicious, but soggy in the =
> middle.  Here's the recipe, ideas anyone?  Phlip and I were surmising =
> too much liquid.
> 
> For 1 1/2 lb loaf:
> 1 cup spent grain
> 8 oz homebrew (quality not important)
> 
> Mix grain and beer in blender to pulverize.  Add to bread machine with
> 2 1/2 cups white flour
> 1 tsp salt
> 1 tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
> 2 tbsp sugar
> 1 pkg bread yeast
> 
> Well, as I said, it was absolutely one of the tastiest breads I've ever =
> made, but virtually mush in the middle, and didn't rise hardly at all.  =
> If anyone can help me fix the recipe, I will happily bake my little Puck =
> butt off and mail out loaves to any who want one, as I have some 12 =
> pounds of spent grain that will either go into bread or go out back for =
> the critters.
> 
> Regards, Puck
> 
> 

I would first try decreasing the 8 liquid oz. of beer down to 7, then 6.
My particular bread machine is very finicky about how much liquid is
added-- and remember, your spent grain also has a moisture content that
will be significant to the total wetness of the dough.

>         Well first off, I am greatly intrested in one of these loaves.  =
> Second, once blended, try putting it on a hotplate, or even just a pan =
> on the stove to dry it up some.  This will still alow you the full taste =
> of all the liguid, and still make it a bit dryer before it bakes.
>         The more I think about this idea, the more it intrigues me.  =
> What I'm thinking is take the grain/beer mixture and reduce it over high =
> heat, both removing about 1/3 to 1/2  of the liquid and carmelizing =
> whats left for richer flavor.  Cecil?  B?  DeMille?  Comments/ideas?  =
> Oops, sorry....Master Adamantius?  Lord Ras?  Duke Cariodoc?  Might this =
> happy village idiot have the benefit of your expertise?  Bear, you're =
> the baker aren't you?  Feel free to jump in anytime, I'm dying to do =
> this right.
>        =20
>         hyuk, Puck

Lady Brighid writes in response:
 
> Sounds like too much liquid (or too little flour).  I've been making
> all my own bread these last few years, but as I don't use a bread
> machine, I'm not sure if I can give very useful advice.  I make bread
> dough in a KitchenAid mixer, and adjust the liquid/flour ration until
> the dough ball cleans the sides of the bowl and does not feel sticky.
 
Either that, or the bread was overkneaded by the machine in the
punch-down phase. I have the experience that a slack, slightly sticky
dough makes a lighter loaf in the interior than one that isn't sticky.
Over-rising (exhausting the yeast) also makes, er, puck-like bread.

> As for the rising, well, heavy breads will generally rise more
> slowly and often will not rise as high as all-white breads.  I
> know you're using white flour, but 1 cup of spent grain per loaf
> would tend to make for a pretty dense loaf.  When I make white
> bread with cracked wheat, I use 1 cup per two loaves.  If you want
> to go for the denser mix, you might try adding a tablespoon of gluten
> to help boost the rise a bit.  If after adjusting the liquid, you
> still have soggy insides, perhaps you might consider baking the loaf
> in the oven rather than in the machine.  In that way, you can give it
> a longer bake.  A loaf is done when rapping on the bottom produces a
> hollow sound, or when a meat thermometer inserted into the middle
> reads 190-200 F.  (Apologies if I'm stating the obvious here; I don't
> know how experienced you are with bread baking.)

There are also a couple of tricks to enhance the texture of a loaf-- and
since we're already talking about an OOP loaf, I'm unafraid to make
these suggestions. ;) Adding about two tablespoons of dry milk powder
will do it, as will about a tablespoon and a half of diastatic malt
powder. The latter is a yeast boost that causes bread to rise
dramatically in the oven. I'm sure that the oil in Puck's recipe acts to
enhance the texture of the crust; substituting butter will do the same
thing.

If a longer baking time is used (you can check your bread machine manual
for the length of time it uses for a comparison), I would suggest
dropping the temperature of the oven a hair, like either 25 to 50
degrees, so the crust isn't done before the interior of the loaf.

ciorstan
(whose beloved Blond husband did the proof and punch-down of sourdough
bread late yesterday, and alas ended up with tough loaves this time due
to over-rising)
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