My husband and I have been home brewing for almost a year now and I not only enjoy drinking the beer, but it also comes in handy for cooking. Whether I add it right to a stew or chili, or use it in marinating, grilling and basting various meat and seafood, it always adds a delicious extra layer of flavor. But I'm always thinking of new ways to use all the ingredients and waste nothing.
Until recently we were using our spent grains just for composting, but on a recent trip to Boston we stumbled on a local brewery restaurant that uses their spent grain as well as their own yeast strain in their pretzels and pizza dough. The nutty flavor was unbelievable and it was possibly the best pizza I've ever had! We immediately wanted to start a new batch of beer just to use the grains!
I found several recipes online and tested a few. The pretzel recipe I have posted below was by far the best use of my grains. It doesn't use very much, so taking the advice of the owner of our local home brew supply store, I also made "barley bark", a crunchy snack for dogs! I also completely dried the remaining barley I pulled out of the mash and ground it up for flour. I even composted what was leftover.
For the dog treats, use the grains while they are still wet. To dry the remaining grains, loosely spread them in thin layers on a cookie sheet in the oven on the lowest heat setting (170-200 degrees) for 4-5 hours. At this point you can remove the driest of the grains for the pretzel recipe, but they do not need to be completely dry, pulse in a food processor to break up large chunks but leave coarse for texture). To continue drying the grains to make flour, you will need to pull the barley off the mushy parts and spread into a thin layer and continue drying 3-4 more hours until all the moisture is removed. Cool dried grains then grind finely using a coffee grinder or blender.
Barley Bark
4 cups spent grains
2 cups flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup peanut butter
cooking spray or vegetable oil
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray (mixture will stick to a non-stick pan if not spray or lightly oiled). Mix all ingredients and spread into a thin layer, about 1/4 inch, onto greased cooking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cut into 1 inch squares. Lower oven to 175 degrees and dry pieces for 1 1/2-2 additional hours.
Spent Grain Pretzel Bites
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 pkg active dry yeast
4 cups flour
1/2 cup spent grains (dried and lightly ground*)
2 oz (1/2 stick) melted butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
10-15 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 egg yolk, beat with 1 Tbsp water
Kosher Salt
1. Combine warm water, sugar and yeast in mixing bowl. Let sit 5 minutes or until the yeast begins to foam at the top of the water. Mix until all flour is wet, then add remaining flour and knead until smooth. Dough should be thick and not sticky.
2. Pour olive oil into clean bowl and spread around sides. Toss dough in oil until all sides are covered. Cover bowl with a warm damp towel and allow dough to rise about one hour or until doubled in size.
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix water and baking soda in a large pot and bring to a boil.
4. Divide dough into 8 equal portions. Roll with both hands from center to outside making half inch thick ropes. Slice into 1 inch pieces or braid into traditional pretzel shapes if preferred. Cover with a damp towel until all pieces are made to prevent drying.
5. Carefully drop dough into boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove quickly and pat dry with a paper towel.
6. Arrange dough on a baking sheet and brush with yolk mixture. Sprinkle with salt.
7. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
*Dough may be frozen wrapped in plastic wrap and a freezer bag. Defrost at room temp for one hour covered with a damp towel before baking.
