RECIPES: Spent Grain

If spent grain is nutritious for farm animals, it can’t be bad for us, right? What to do with the malted barley after it’s been used is a challenge for homebrewers. Most don’t want to throw it in the garbage, some have no access to compost, and few have a goat in the backyard. So what to do? Make bread, crackers, breadsticks or dog treats. 

If you’re inspired to cook with spent grain, any brewery in Wilmington will gladly put some aside for you; bringing your own bag or container to pick it up is much appreciated. Call ahead to find out when they are brewing. When you pick it up, it will be wet, warm and not that photographic.

You can bake with wet grain, or you can spread it on a sheet pan and dry it at your oven’s lowest temperature, until it’s…dry. The dried grain is pretty grainy. Buzz it in your Cuisinart; if you have a sharp blade, the result will be something akin to a hearty whole wheat flour. 

The following recipes use dried and wet spent grain. To quickly unload some wet grain, turn it into dog treats. Wet spent grain gives texture to a no-knead bread recipe. 

I used the dry grain to make grissini, or breadsticks. Perfect snack to go with beer, and they look good on a bar.

Spent Grain Recipes

This recipe gives the upcyle-cook two option to use the surfeit of of spent grain

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Ingredients

  

Spent Grain Grissini

• Makes about 20 grissini
• 1 tablespoon oil *
• 1 cup of whatever beer you have in the fridge, warmed to 110° ℉
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup dried and processed spent grain
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar **
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil for brushing
• Kosher salt

Instructions

 

• Heat oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Put the tablespoon of oil and warm beer in a large measuring cup.
• Pulse dry ingredients in a food processor for 30 seconds.
• While the processor is running, slowly pour in half of the beer mixture. Then add a tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together in a ball, but is still sticky. Continue to process until dough is smooth and elastic, about 30 seconds. Transfer dough to a lightly greased large bowl; cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 1½ to 2 hours.
• Punch down dough; it will be sticky. Place it on a lightly floured work surface. Cut in half. While one half is covered with plastic, roll the other the half with a rolling pin until it’s 8 by 12 inches. Use a pizza cutter to cut into ¾-inch strips. Oil your hands. Take a strip at a time; fold it in half then roll it with your hands until it’s about the diameter of a cigar and four inches long. Put each back under the plastic to keep from drying out. Repeat with second half. Once all the dough has been rolled, cover and rest for 15 minutes.
• On a lightly oiled surface, roll each piece of dough with your hands until it’s about 20 inches long and the width of a pencil. Grissini is rustic; no need to make them perfect. Place on a baking sheet. Brush with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
• Notes
• * Extra- virgin olive oil gets bitter when machine-blended. Use a neutral oil or a blend of neutral oil and regular olive oil
• ** I used Demerara, a brown granulated sugar also known as raw sugar. White sugar is fine.

Notes

Notes

* Extra- virgin olive oil gets bitter when machine-blended. Use a neutral oil or a blend of neutral oil and regular olive oil

** I used Demerara, a brown granulated sugar also known as raw sugar. White sugar is fine.

The story originally appeared the Summer 2024 issue.