This project can be done only if you invest in (or borrow) a whole-grain grinder; there’s no shortcut. Bettina convinced me that my stand mixer could use yet one more attachment, and I got my own grain grinder. I am not yet at Bettina’s level of baking, and I still measure obsessively, but I am a convert to grinding whole grains.
When you grind your own flour, grind only as much grain as you’ll need for your recipe, as the nutritional quality of the grain begins to deteriorate as soon as it is ground. One cup of whole grains translates roughly to 1¼–1½ cups of flour, depending on the grind you choose. Your flour will be coarser than the refined flour you may be used to, and your baked goods may have a grainy texture (but my chocolate-chip cookies still get eaten!). Freshly ground whole-grain flour lends more of a wheat flavor to the food, which is why it is good in breads and other savory baked goods. Sweet baked goods are usually made with lighter, more refined flours.
A grinder attachment on a stand mixer.
Bettina’s Advice
•You can grind the grains from rough (coarse) to fine, depending on what you want to do with them. The finest grind is flour, and the coarsest is groats.
•If your grain mill has a grinder made of steel, you can also grind sesame and flax seeds, but only coarsely. Grinding breaks up the seed differently than chewing does, and it makes the vitamins and minerals from the kernel more accessible to your body.
•Many grinders do not grind corn; check before buying.
•For bread, you can use all kinds of grain, but only wheat (and thus spelt, emmer, and other kinds of wheat) contains the gluten that acts like glue in the bread. I prefer wheat for at least half of the flour and whatever I like—oats, barley, rye—for the rest.
Project 6: Small-Scale Beer Brewing
Why would you want to do this? Small-batch, hand-crafted beer has distinct flavors, and it tastes so much better than many store-bought beers. Beer makes a great gift, and brewing can become a fun, rewarding hobby.
Why wouldn’t you want to do this?You don’t drink beer, or you don’t like beer with interesting or complex flavors.
Is there an easier way?You can use extracts (instead of whole grains), available at home-brew stores or from online suppliers, but most are formulated for a full 5 gallons. Beer brewed with extracts tastes very different than that made from whole grains, but using extracts can cut out a bunch of steps (similar to using a mix to make pancakes).
Cost comparison:The price per pint is minimal compared with the price of bottled or pub brews.
Skills needed:This is pretty easy for the person who knows his or her way around a kitchen. Some knowledge or understanding of brewing and beer qualities can help but is by no means necessary.
Learn more about it: Whether you were pleased with the results or were slightly dissatisfied but are still curious, by all means, learn more! The Brewers’ Handbook (Apex Pub, 2000) by Ted Goldammer is a good starting place; also check out the magazines Zymurgy (published by the American Homebrewers Association) and Brew Your Own (published by Battenkill Communications).
Making your own beer is incredibly cheap per pint, is really fun, and yields very tasty results. This project requires no special equipment; you’ll probably find everything you need already in your kitchen. If you like the process, a whole new world will open up—you’ll find a new appreciation for small-batch beers, and you may decide that you want to play with the many different flavors that you can get from home brewing.
We live in Portland, Oregon, which boasts more brewpubs per capita than anywhere else in the world and more varieties of small-scale brews than anywhere else in the United States. Given that my husband and I both really enjoy beer and making our own products, it seems almost inevitable that he would eventually take up brewing. He began with extracts—sort of a ready-made “kit” to brew with. Because he’s a foodie as well and has a highly developed sense of taste, he moved into whole-grain batches, learning about the subtle nuances that come with having more control over the process and that also yield a more interesting product.
The following is my husband’s version of a small-scale batch, which is made without any equipment fancier than what you already have in your kitchen. Ingredients can be bought at a home-brew supply store or from an online supplier. Have your brew shop grind the malt for you; if ordering online, make sure that the supplier grinds the malt and doesn’t just ship whole grains.
Materials/Ingredients:
•Large bowl for mash
•Colander or large strainer
•Food thermometer
•Large spoon
•Two large pots
•Funnel
•Two 2-liter soda bottles
•1 pound American 2-row pale malt
•¾ pound (12 ounces) Maris Otter or British 2-row malt
•¼ pound (4 ounces) medium crystal malt
•1 ounce Fuggles (hops)
•1 packet Muntons brewing yeast
•Carbonation tablets
•Water
•Ice
Step 1: Pour the malt grains into the bowl and mix them together. In a large pot, heat 2 quarts of water to 170 degrees Fahrenheit and pour it into the grain mixture. This is your mash. Stir it well, cover it, and let it sit for an hour. During this hour, stir it several times to keep the temperature relatively even throughout. Check the temperature periodically to maintain it at 145–150 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 2: Near the end of the hour, heat another gallon of water to 175 degrees Fahrenheit and pour a couple of cups into the mash.
Step 3: Place your colander (or large strainer) over the other large pot. Spoon the mash into the colander. Gently pour the water from the mash over the grains, followed by the rest of the gallon of water you just heated. Pour the water over a large spoon so the water splashes over the surface of the grains rather than boring a hole in one spot. You want to rinse as much of the sugar and flavor off of the grains as possible to make a “tea” called sweet wort. This wort is the basis of the beer in that it contains the foods that the yeast will convert to alcohol and CO2 as well as the compounds that form the flavors of your beer. Once you’ve used all of the water to rinse the grains, you are done with the grains and can use them for muffins, dog biscuits, bird feed, or whatever you like.
Step 4: Bring the sweet wort to a boil on the stove. You may need to add 1 or 2 cups of water to increase the total volume to about 2 gallons at the start of the boil.
Step 5: Once the wort begins to boil, add half an ounce of hops. Boil vigorously, uncovered, for thirty minutes, and then add another quarter ounce of hops. Continue boiling for another twenty-five minutes and then add the rest of the hops. Boil for five more minutes and then remove the wort from the heat. Total boil time is sixty minutes.
Boil the wort for thirty minutes after adding the hops.
Step 6: Follow the directions on the yeast packet to rehydrate the yeast. This is the same process that you use when making bread—adding the dry yeast to a bit of warm water to revive the yeast so it is ready to go to work in your beer.
Step 7: While the yeast is hydrating, place the big pot of hot wort in your sink in an ice bath. Stir the wort to cool it quickly to about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 8: Pour the cooled wort through your strainer to remove the hops. Don’t worry if