April 23, 2022 - 4:48am
Brod & Taylor Proofing Oven at High Temperatures (175-195F) to Make Red Rye Malt
I'm thinking of making red rye malt from Rus Brot's Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTa19hYag4Q) using my Brod & Taylor proofer. It requires keeping the malted grains at 80C (175F) and 90C (195F) for several days.
Does anyone have experience using the Brod & Taylor at high temperatures for such a long period of time? I'm a little worried about its ability to maintain such high temperatures and about the safety.
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I don't own one but it is rated for that so it should be fine. You'll want to check the temperature of your malt. Some have reported significantly higher temperatures than the setting. See: https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/70012/may-flas-be-you#comment-503450
I was totally successful making red rye malt using an Instant Pot Ultra 6 qt. In the ultra setting on the IP you can precisely dial in the temps (with an accuracy of +/- 5F) that you need. It took 5 days and then drying the grains in a Nesco dehydrator for another day or so.
The results were out of this world. The depth of flavour it brought to his Borodinsky bread is beyond description and where I live here in Canada, the solod malt grains are nowhere to be found other than the internet.
It's most definitely worth the effort if you go for it. Just make sure that the temps needed for the process are achieved.
I recently bought both, and I can tell you that there is a world of difference. It is like the difference between Boonsfarm Apple wine and a fine French Burgundy. The Red Crystal Malt has a very malty and roasted smell. The Fermented Red Rye had malty tones of chocolate and coffee that are intoxicating. I don't know how it tastes baked into bread yet, but look forward to that first attempt.
Did you buy your fermented red rye? I used to get mine off Etsy, but it shipped directly from Russia, and that’s obviously not an option these days. I can’t seem to find it anywhere else. Checked the local Russian store but they don’t carry it.
Try ebay, there are a few sellers from Ukraine.
I see that they have it (for anyone else looking, you can search for “solod”). Not cheap but that’s understandable considering how far it has to go.
You can find it on both sites, Usually from someone based here in the USA. The one I just received came from Brooklyn. It is expensive. These people buy in bulk then resell here in the states.
I don't have an Insta pot, but I'm sure I could borrow one for a few days. Are you able to vent the pot while it's heated? I don't have a dehydrator, so I would just have to rely on the water evaporating during the heatings steps.
I use a glass lid instead of the pressure cooking lid. Nearer to the end of the process I do wedge it open a bit. Be prepared...your whole house will smell unbelieveable, but after five days it can get cloying. I did mine out on the balcony of my condo.
Speaking to other models of IPs, I'm not familiar with the temps but you can find all of the exact settings/temp specs for each model on the IP website. The IP is a great alternative for making fermented rye malt.
Tortoise
To use the Brod and Taylor proofer at temperatures about 120°F you’ll need to change the setting for cooking in a pot. You’d then place that pot directly on the heating element and you should be able to maintain that target temperature of 175°F.
If you have an Instant pot you can use the slow cooker function on “less” this should give you a temperature range of 180-190°F which is a bit too high for you. If you use the Keep Warm setting “more” it should keep the temperature around 172°F which might be close enough for your purposes.
Benny
I recently purchased an Anova Oven which allows for temperatures down to 75F, It also allows you to control humidity. As such it would be perfect for making homemade solod (fermented red rye malt)
Other than for the fun of making it I don’t know why anyone would bother when one can buy Ukrainian sourced on eBay for a good price.
‘I have about 5 lbs of it and that will likely last for a year.
I used the Brod & Taylor once for something where it was on the slow cooker setting at the high end of the tmeprature range. Can’t remember exactly what. All I remember is that the table underneath the B&T was getting very warm. To protect the table I put the B & T on a heavy board. Just be aware that whatever the B&T is sitting on will warm up quite a bit.