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Making Red Rye Malt

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Making Red Rye Malt

I took 60 g of rye berries and soaked them for 5 hours in water.  Then, taking a metal sheet tray, I moistened a paper towel and placed it on the tray and spread the berries over the paper towel.  I then took two paper towels, moistened them, placed them over the berries, covered the sheet pan with plastic wrap and covered the whole shebang with a kitchen towel.. Every day I would move the berries around and spray the top of the paper towels a little water to keep them moist - not wet.  After 96 hours from start to finish the berries were ready to dry and looked like this.

The tray looked like this.

I then dried the berries in my table top Cuisinart convection oven.  The berries were stirred and the pan was rotated 18o degrees every 15 minutes.  I used a drying schedule of 30 minutes each at 175 F (convection), 225 F, 275 F and then 20 minutes at 325 F and they were done. Here are pictures at the end of each time and temperature.

175 F

225 F

275 F

325 F

After grinding the original 60 g of berries, it made 32 G of Red Rye Malt Powder.  The powder looked like this.

 

Comments

Ogi the Yogi's picture
Ogi the Yogi

What if I don't want white malt at all, can I just start drying them at 175F for 30 minute intervals without first doing the 150F for 2 hours, or do I absolutely have to start with 150 and then do 175F? 

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

first and then take half the batch and turn it into non diastaic red malt you just set the oven with the door ajar to 150 F and dry ofr about 3-4 hours.  Then take half the dried berries and grind them for white malt and then start taking the temperature up to 325 F gradually in steps for the other half until they turn a nice brown color - then grind them.

Ogi the Yogi's picture
Ogi the Yogi

grinding them into a powder? 

Lechem's picture
Lechem (not verified)

But I'm glad I've come across it Dabrownman.

Can't find red rye malt anywhere and think I will need to resort to making my own.

A great step-by-step guide.

Thank you!

badgett's picture
badgett

Try Chicago Brew Werks. Simpson's Crystal Rye Malt

 

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

and this makes things much easier and the berries less likely to mold at the 4-5 day mark.  Good luck Abe

Susan San Martin's picture
Susan San Martin

I used this recipe and it came out perfectly.  I ground the toasted sprouts in my coffee grinder and then stored them in an empty spice jar.  I just used 1 Tbsp. of the malt powder for the Munich Penny Rolls in Stanley Ginsburg's The Rye Baker, and the results were fabulous.  The 60g quantity, when sprouted, is the perfect amount, when sprouted, to fit my half sheet pans.

The recipe for rye malt stipulates that it is important to stir the sprouts around every day during the 96 hour sprouting window.  I got lazy and did not do this and the sprouts grew through the paper towels.  I was able to pick the paper off prior to baking the sprouts, but it was time consuming and I will not take this "shortcut" again! 

When doing the oven toasting, I let my eyes and nose be the guide for baking times, especially toward the end of the bake when the temperature is high.  Your photos of the baking stages were crucial to judging doneness and are much appreciated. 

I should have enough malt powder to last for 3-4 more bakes.

sirdank's picture
sirdank

I am following this recipe with the intent of making a Borodinsky and am very excited, thank you for it! By any chance did you remove the sprouts and roots before grinding? Also, does anyone know how to identify mold on these? I couldn't tell if my sprouts were moldy or just had tiny, fuzzy roots growing on them. Looking forward to this!

badgett's picture
badgett

 Simpson's Crystal Rye Malt from Chicago Brew Werks

ericjs's picture
ericjs

This is an old post, but it still comes up in searches. So I thought I'd add this link to a detailed write up on how proper solod is made. It does involve fermentation, and to answer another person's question: yes, the tails should be removed. It also says the tails should not be allowed to grow longer than the grains themselves.

https://www.beetsandbones.com/russian-red-rye-malt-solod/

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