I'm a homebrewer. One of the best smells in the world is a boiling pot of wort, and I've always wanted to somehow "eat" that smell. Well, this is what happened on my fist attempt at a "brewer's bread".
Day 1: 3/4 c KA bread Flour
3/4 c Whole Wheat flour
1/16 tsp instant yeast
enough water to make a very sticky dough
mix well and let sit at RT for 18-24 hrs then refrigerate for a day.
Day 2: Go to your local homebrew store and pick up a pound of your favorite malted barley (or wheat). I used 3/4 lb caravienne and 1/4 lb belgian aromatic. Mash at 150F for an hour with one quart of water. I used a crockpot and a thermometer. Strain the wort into a bowl and sparge with a cup or two of boiling water. Process the spent grain in a food processor until it obtains a paste-like consistency. Refrigerate the wort and the grain paste overnight.
Day 3: Cut up the biga into 10 pieces. Combine:
Biga
1 1/2 c bread flour
3/4 - 1 c spent grain paste (depending on how much "whole grain" you want to taste
2 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp coarse kosher salt
1 tsp canola oil (or whatever you like... try melted lard!)
1/2 c wort ( adjust as necessary... my final dough was very sticky)
Stir with a fork until you get a ball, then knead with dough hook on medium speed for 4-5 minutes. Rest dough 20 min, stretch and fold in bowl, repeat three times. form into loaves or boules, proof 2 hours. Set oven to 500f, pour 1 1/2 c hot water into steam pan and place loaves in oven. Reduce to 425f and bake for 15 min, rotate then bake for 10 min or until dark brown and center reads 200f.
I was expecting to get a dark, heavy brick, but I was pleasantly surprised by how light and crispy it turned out. Next time I'll add some hops!
