Biertreberbrot - Spent Grain Bread

by Caleb Smith August 19, 2021

For those of us who brew beer using the all grain method, some of us want to do something with the grain when we are done brewing. Sure, we can feed it to our friend's livestock, or put it in the compost pile. However, there are some other ways to use the spent grains in cooking.

One easy recipe is Biertreberbrot, spent grain bread. If you have a bread machine, the recipe is to layer the ingredients below in order, and bake on a whole grain setting.

One cup of water (or beer)
Two tablespoons of sugar
One teaspoon of salt
Two tablespoons of oil, butter, or lard
One cup of wet grain
Three cups of flour
Two teaspoons of yeast

One tip I have to suggest is that if you use the trub (the sediment at the bottom of the fermenter) instead of water, you don't have to add any yeast. The residual yeast in the trub is enough to help the bread to rise.

To bake the bread in an oven, the process is slightly different.

Mix all of your ingredients together, and knead for about ten minutes. Cover the dough and leave in a warm spot and allow the dough to doubled in size. Punch the dough down, and form it into a loaf. It can be placed in a pan or formed into a circle. Cover and allow to rise for thirty minutes. At this point, preheat the oven to 420*F, and cut slits into the top of the bread. Bake the bread for 40 minutes, then remove from the oven and allow to cool. Slice and enjoy!

This bread is great with butter and a glass of homebrew beer. Prost!