Biertreberbrot (German Spent Grain Bread)

By
Clarice Lam
Clarice lam
Clarice Lam
Clarice is a pastry chef with over a decade of writing and creating recipes. Having lived in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orlando, and NYC in the United States; Canada, Hong Kong, The Philippines, Mexico, South Africa, France, Spain, and the UK, Clarice has had a lifetime of studying cuisines from around the globe.
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Updated on 09/26/23
Tested by Joan Velush
A sliced loaf of German spent grain bread on a cutting board

The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 25 mins
Rising Time: 2 hrs 40 mins
Total: 3 hrs 35 mins
Servings: 6 servings
Yield: 1 loaf

Using beer and beer byproducts in baking is quite common in Germany. One such bread is called biertreberbrot, which is made with the leftover spent grains from brewing. The spent grain is usually added wet to a regular dough along with optional nuts or raisins. The result is a bread that is nutty and flavorful and packed with fiber and protein.

If you aren't a home brewer, spent grain can be a little difficult to find unless you have friends or family who like to brew their own beer. This version uses the more easily accessible whole rye malt grains, which add a nice textural element to the loaf.

Tips for Making Spent Grain Bread

  • While proofing instant yeast is not mandatory, it's a step included in this recipe to ensure your yeast is viable. If you are certain your yeast is viable, you can simply mix all the bread ingredients together at once.
  • Mixing the salt in last gives the yeast a jumpstart.
  • Stretching and folding the dough not only helps to shape the loaf but also works to develop gluten without having to knead the dough
  • Baking the loaf on a doubled baking sheet or pizza stone helps the dough achieve greater "oven spring." Oven spring is the initial rise a loaf undergoes when it hits the hot air of the oven. This is caused by increased yeast activity under warmer temperatures and also the water in the dough converting to steam and causing already existing air bubbles in the dough to expand rapidly.

"An absolutely wonderful loaf of bread, both chewy and delicious. I've already made it three times for my family since everyone wants me to bake this bread regularly. It's even better toasted. Possibly one of the best recipes I've ever tested for The Spruce Eats!" —Joan Velush

Biertreberbrot (German Spent Grain Bread)
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup warm water, about 110 degrees

  • 1/4 cup warm whole milk, about 110 degrees

  • 2 tablespoons honey

  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, more as needed

  • 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour

  • 1/2 cup whole-grain rye malt

  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1/4 cup cornmeal

Steps to Make It

Make the Dough

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients to make German spent grain bread

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  2. Add the warm water, warm milk, honey, and yeast to a stand mixer bowl fitted with the dough hook. Stir until well combined. Let it sit until the yeast mixture becomes bubbly, about 10 minutes.

    The bowl of a stand mixer with a foamy mixture of warm water, warm milk, honey and yeast

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  3. Add the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, and rye malt to the mixer. Mix on medium speed until well combined, about 3 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and knead for another 4 minutes. The dough will be sticky.

    A stand mixer with a ball of dough made from the yeast mixture, flour, whole wheat flour, and rye malt

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  4. Add the salt and continue to knead on medium-high for 3 minutes more. The dough will be sticky but should begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl and come together into a ball.

    A stand mixer with a hook attachment with a smooth ball of dough

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  5. Add the olive oil to a large bowl. Use your fingers to spread the oil around the inside of the bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl.

    A ball of dough in a oil-coated glass bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  6. Gently stretch the side of the dough farthest away from you and fold it towards you, two thirds of the way over.

    Two hands folding a bowl of dough in an oiled glass bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  7. Then stretch the side of the dough closest to you and fold it over the first, away from you.

    A folded ball of dough in an oiled glass bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  8. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat this folding motion.

    Rotate the bowl 90 degrees one more time and repeat this folding motion. This process helps shape the dough into a neat round.

    A folded ball of dough in an oiled glass bowl

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  9. Flip the dough round over, so the seam is at the bottom. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise until almost doubled in size, about 2 hours.

    A glass bowl with risen spent grain dough

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  10. After the dough has risen, punch it down and turn it out onto a floured work surface.

    A floured cutting board with a punched down ball of spent grain dough

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  11. Line the same large bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Generously dust the towel with flour.

    A large bowl lined a floured towel

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  12. Gently fold the edges of the dough into the center to create a nice round loaf.

    Hands shaping a ball of dough on a floured cutting board

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  13. Pinch the seams together, and place the dough, seam-side up, into the towel-lined bowl.

    A towel-lined bowl with spent grain bread dough

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  14. Fold the edges of the tea towel over the dough to loosely cover it and let it proof for another 40 minutes, or until an indentation made with a finger springs back part of the way.

    A large glass bowl with a folded tea towel covering proofing bread

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

Bake the Bread

  1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Place a doubled rimmed baking sheet or a single pizza stone on the rack and heat the oven to 500 F.

    Once the oven is heated, remove the hot baking sheets or pizza stone and sprinkle the cornmeal into a circle approximately the same size as the loaf.

    A pizza stone coated with cornmeal

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  2. Gently turn the loaf out of the bowl onto the cornmeal. Slash an X on top of the loaf using a sharp knife or blade.

    Place the bread in the oven. Immediately turn the heat down to 450 F and continue to bake until the internal temperature registers at 200 F, about 25 minutes.

    A baked loaf of Germa spent grain bread on a cornmeal-coated pizza stone

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  3. Remove the loaf from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

    A loaf of German spent grain bread on a wire cooling rack

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

Recipe Variations

  • Add various seeds, nuts, and/or dried fruit for more flavor.
  • Use agave syrup or brown sugar instead of the honey, if desired.
  • The loaf can also be baked in a loaf pan. In this case, spray the pan with cooking spray or grease with butter and don’t use cornmeal. Bake until the internal temperature registers 200 F on an instant-read thermometer.
  • Use the blade or knife to carve any design on top for some fun.

How to Store and Freeze

The loaf can be frozen for up to three months. You can vacuum seal it or place the bread in a double-bagged, freezer-safe bag with as much air pressed out as possible.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
251 Calories
4g Fat
48g Carbs
7g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 251
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g 5%
Saturated Fat 1g 4%
Cholesterol 1mg 0%
Sodium 417mg 18%
Total Carbohydrate 48g 18%
Dietary Fiber 4g 15%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 7g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 28mg 2%
Iron 2mg 14%
Potassium 161mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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