December 12, 2018 - 8:44am
A Surfeit of Bran
Over the last couple of months I have accumulated about 200g of bran from various grains, mainly when sifting to create high extraction flours.
Any ideas what I can do with it other than lining bannetons and adding to levains?
I recall seeing a recipe for bran biscuits, but maybe that is carrying healthiness too far? Anyone tried them?
Lance
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Would you consider adding some to your recipe when u dont need high extraction flour Add 30g per 500g flour soak in 75ml boiling water taken from the total water in recipe Leave for 4-10 hours to soak Add in when you add the salt makes a delicious loaf
if you make your own granola.
I suppose you could use it as a porridge, too.
Paul
Paul, I have an interesting anecdote regarding the porridge idea:
My wife and I make porridge everyday in the winter. We use what we call pinhead oatmeal over here - very coarse steel cut oats - cooked overnight in a modified slow cooker. That way it's ready for eating in the morning when we come down for breakfast.
Anyway, I thought I would blend in 10% bran to use some up. To our surprise, the porridge was thin and runny, like gruel; normally it's nice and thick and nutty. It was edible, but not very nice.
I can only think the residual flour enzymes trapped in the bran got to work and liquified the oat starch - an interesting bit of biochemistry!
Lance
Any notion of how long your slow cooker takes to get above the temperature that the enzymes would be denatured? The porridge might have had the perfect set of conditions for elevated enzyme activity.
We've tried the pinhead/Scotch/Irish/steel-cut oats with our slow cookers and don't like the result. There is usually a tough crust immediately adjacent to the vessel surface, then a thick layer of overcooked oats, with a core of more-or-less palatable oats in the center. My guess is that the cookers' temperature is too high for the oats at that length of time, plus the oats aren't able to circulate and maintain an even temperature.
I just soak them overnight now, which then requires about 5-10 minutes of actual cooking on the stove to make them ready to serve.
Paul
Slow cookers are totally built down to a price. They are a bit of a disgrace in terms of energy usage; mine has no insulation and no proper temperature control - just a high/low switch.
I did try using it for overnight porridge, but like you I found it didn't work well, so being the Modifier of All Things, I added some insulation and a PID temperature controller and now it makes great porridge!
I'm not too sure of the temperature, because by necessity it is sensing the temperature of the skin of the outer container, rather than the porridge itself. Whatever the temp it's obviously good for amylase (and possibly xylanase?) activity!
Lance
https://lifemadesimplebakes.com/2014/07/the-best-whole-wheat-bran-muffins/
I keep a restaurant style parmasean shaker of bran, from a variety of sources, on hand to sprinkle onto the underside of doughs, (1) after they are nestled down in their bannetons for overnight retarding, and (2) lightly again the next morning before they're inverted onto the peel. The former prevents the plastic bag that encloses it in the fridge from sticking to the dough, should it sufficiently sag overnight (rarely a problem) or the dough overproof up to meet it (again, maybe happened once?). The latter prevents the dough from sticking to the super peel on its way into the oven - an anti-climax that has brought me to the brink of tears. The bottom's light bran coating is well worth it and the shaker than makes it possible is indispensible.
Tom
Bran Shaker Can idea. You can always throw it int rye bread and not a Soul would ever notice it being there but a Saint might!
And they are delicious!!!
https://www.dairygoodness.ca/recipes/banana-cranberry-bran-muffins
I think that recipe looks like a perfect use for bran!
Lance