Recipe: Spent Grain Beer Bread

June 4, 2008 by dave.

Bread made from the ‘spent grain‘ that results from brewing beer has a wonderful flavor. Spent Grain is typically crushed barley that is steeped in hot water as part of the beer brewing process. Once it has steeped long enough for the particular beer recipe the grain is often thrown out…..but instead it can be dried and used as one of the ingredients of bread. Since there are numerous types of grain used in the brewing process - the flavors of the breads you can make often vary widely….but in a flavorful way!

The process of drying the spent grain is pretty simple….I first let the grain sit in a strainer to get the bulk of the liquid out of it. Then I spread it on a cookie sheet and put it in a 200 to 250 degree oven for a few hours. I leave the oven door open slightly to let the moisture out. I try to mix the grain around every 1/2 hour or so to aid in the drying process. When it’s done I put it in a Ziplock bag and freeze it until I need it.

There is a restaurant in Woodstock, NH called The Woodstock Station that also has it’s own brewery and they make bread for the restaurant from the grain. Note: They make the best Oatmeal Stout I’ve ever had!. Years ago a friend gave me a recipe for making bread that they said mimicked the bread that this restaurant produces. I experimented with the recipe and successfully modified it for use in a bread machine. Enjoy!

Spent Grain Bread (bread machine version)

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