The Supreme eG Baking and Pastry Challenge (Round 3)

[s_sevilla]

upside down beer......for some reason I keep thinking of those "lifting" bubbles in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, But I digress.

It would be neat to see if the malt syrup coud be foamed in an ISI whipper....unfortuneatly I don't have one right now, so all my foams will have to wait for another day.

I'm wondering how hops will/can be worked into the mix, if you are looking here are you going to infuse something with them?

I've heard of places like Alinea using vaporizers to create essences and smells that they load into little pillows, and the guests are supposed to press the pillow, wafting the smells into their faces. A tad gimmicky for me, but a neat way to incorporate herbs and the like.

[Pam R]

BTW, this challenge is already getting to me - last night I had a dreadful nightmare that I got expelled from eGullet for lack of replying - shudder......

I promise you won't be expelled because of this challenge!

I'm not much of a beer drinker, but what about honey as a flavour component. Good luck with the challenge - I can't wait to see what you come up with!

[Varmint]

Of course, a sweet barley cake could be a start.

[gfron1]

Mette, join the no-sleep club. I had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep last week because ideas were racing through my head. Embrace the lack of sleep

My two cents...I've been thinking about Raspberry Chimay and Lemon in Heffeweizen...I love fruit in my beer.

[ludja]

In what forms can one purchase malted barley and hops in retail?

Buying these items would necessitate a trip to a beer brewing supply store, I guess.

[Kouign Aman]

Should be able to buy dried hops at a herbalist or brew supply store (hops are a soporific).

I keep thinking of something inelegant like a malty barley pudding (similar to rice pud but with more texture), decorated with a thin ribbon of hop syrup - a sweet & bitter note.

Its the hop syrup that really keeps coming to mind.

This will be a fun challenge to follow.

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I have actually been considering a barley pudding - when the kids were very young we used to make porridge out of barley flakes - it doesn't taste like much, and I really abhorr the texture, so I've left this track.

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Flakes = babyfood. I'm with you on the yuck. I was thinking more of pearl barley or a more substantial cousin. Varmint's idea of a barley cake has some appeal.

However this one goes, its a fun process so far.

hmmmm - can one pop barley the way one pops corn? That could give a foamy appearance to the final dessert.

[Mette]

Mette, join the no-sleep club.  I had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep last week because ideas were racing through my head.  Embrace the lack of sleep 

My two cents...I've been thinking about Raspberry Chimay and Lemon in Heffeweizen...I love fruit in my beer.

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Actually, I've been sniffing hops to find a type suitably aromatic - I was (again) overwhelmed by the citrusness of the cascade hops - so I'm thinking about going this way in a possible hop based element - the acidity is otherwise hard to come by in beer; there's is sweetness and bitterness, which does get countered in the fruity beers by the acidity/sharpness.

[Mette]

In what forms can one purchase malted barley and hops in retail?

Buying these items would necessitate a trip to a beer brewing supply store, I guess.

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We seem to have them kicking around the cellar, but when beer was first brewed in this house, we bought online. On homebrewing sites, you can often buy smaller quantities. Malt syrup can often be bought in health food stores, but of course this will have a generic flavour profile.

Tonight, i've managed to make my own dark malt syrup, with a sweet and butter intense flavour - I still need an application for it though...

[Mette]

Should be able to buy dried hops at a herbalist or brew supply store (hops are a soporific).

I keep thinking of something inelegant like a malty barley pudding (similar to rice pud but with more texture), decorated with a thin ribbon of hop syrup - a sweet & bitter note.

Its the hop syrup that really keeps coming to mind.

This will be a fun challenge to follow.

←

I have actually been considering a barley pudding - when the kids were very young we used to make porridge out of barley flakes - it doesn't taste like much, and I really abhorr the texture, so I've left this track.

←

Flakes = babyfood. I'm with you on the yuck. I was thinking more of pearl barley or a more substantial cousin. Varmint's idea of a barley cake has some appeal.

However this one goes, its a fun process so far.

hmmmm - can one pop barley the way one pops corn? That could give a foamy appearance to the final dessert.

←

Maybe pearl barley will puff if deep fried - I feel an experiment coming on (where does one get pearl barley at 9:30 at night in the suburbs) - this would add a nice crispy someting

[Mette]

Here's todays mini-blog:

I've been trying (again - this time without ending up with burnt gunk) to male malt syrup: Münchener malt, crystal malt and chcolate malt - cracked, mashed, sparged and then the liquid boiled to death to mak a nice, thick syrup with definate maltiness and bitterness - now I need a good way of using it. it would be good with something creamy - I've been toying with rice pudding, bruleé and bread-and-butter pudding. The latter being the first time the yeast enters the equasion.

I've also taken advantage of my nice neighbour and his flour mill and made some malt flour, which I am going to try and use in shortbread to da a malty shortbread and maby as a flavouring agent in something else.

The hops.....steep, grind, or .......Looking for something fun to do with hops without getting the bitterness or just a bit of bitterness....

We had a conversation in this house about whisky in this context - the ingredients in whisky are the same as in beer (except the hops, obviously) - is whisky cheating?

Just noticed the marshmallow thread has been revitalised - maybe a hop and malt syrup marshmallow.

This is turning into quite an adventure, and i do se a pattern emerging where focus is on the components of beer. This is a lot of fun - hopefully no more nightmares!

Must make shortbred!

Edited October 10, 2006 by Mette (log)

[gfron1]

The original challenge came from my own ignorance of beer (I like to drink it, but don't know much about it). So it sounds like you've answered your own question. If hops is crucial to a beverage being called beer...then guess what? You need to include hops. So hop to it!

[Irishgirl]

I like the idea of the hop and malt marshmallow!

What about pairing it with a malt and graham cracker or something with graham/barley that is a bit yeasty, and THEN warm Chocolate ganache for a deconstructed beer S'more! This would incorporate the barley cake (kind of like an oat cake/wafer).

Or a hop and malt marshmallow with a warm barley/malt drink or barley/malt/chocolate drink?

Or....you could make the marshmallow, and then the malt syrup, a barley flavoured ice cream,

and make a float, with soda, the malt syrup, the icecream and the marshmallow as garnish?

Toasted hops that are caramelized and then crushed as another garnish?

(I don't know what hops look like or the consistency of them, but this appeals to me...)

Carry on!

[chiantiglace]

Should be able to buy dried hops at a herbalist or brew supply store (hops are a soporific).

I keep thinking of something inelegant like a malty barley pudding (similar to rice pud but with more texture), decorated with a thin ribbon of hop syrup - a sweet & bitter note.

Its the hop syrup that really keeps coming to mind.

This will be a fun challenge to follow.

←

I have actually been considering a barley pudding - when the kids were very young we used to make porridge out of barley flakes - it doesn't taste like much, and I really abhorr the texture, so I've left this track.

←

Flakes = babyfood. I'm with you on the yuck. I was thinking more of pearl barley or a more substantial cousin. Varmint's idea of a barley cake has some appeal.

However this one goes, its a fun process so far.

hmmmm - can one pop barley the way one pops corn? That could give a foamy appearance to the final dessert.

←

Maybe pearl barley will puff if deep fried - I feel an experiment coming on (where does one get pearl barley at 9:30 at night in the suburbs) - this would add a nice crispy someting

←

Mette, do you have a pressure cooker? I think the barely would possibly act more on the lines of rice (as in rice crispies) than like popcorn.

[Mette]

Must get pearl barley, must get pearl barley - and a pressure cooker. I'm going to try it out!

The malt shortbread is vey nice, malty, buttery, crumbly - may work well with marshmallows as suggested - I'll try out the marshmallows.

[Pontormo]

1) Replicating the foam in an iced mug of beer might be fun.

2) After seeing the link to your exquisite chocolates, Mette, I'd encourage you to go with your strengths. Just because a pairing of chocolate and beer seems obvious (grrr arrrg ) does not mean that something original, creative and self-expressive can't be done with that combination, let alone a deconstructed-beer dessert.

[ludja]

I'm trying to get my head around what the potential raw ingredients for this challenge might entail... It's fuzzy to me since I've never been involved with home beer making.

Pearl barley

barley flour

malted barley grain (can one buy this? is it wet or dry, in a jar?)

barley flakes

malt extract (syrup or dry powder; is this the same as wort?)

dried hops (the form is dried flower heads)

yeast

If anyone can correct or add to this, I'd appreciate it!

Edited October 11, 2006 by ludja (log)

[Mette]

1) Replicating the foam in an iced mug of beer might be fun.

2) After seeing the link to your exquisite chocolates, Mette, I'd encourage you to go with your strengths.  Just because a pairing of chocolate and beer seems obvious (grrr arrrg ) does not mean that something original, creative and self-expressive can't be done with that combination, let alone a deconstructed-beer dessert.

←

Thank you for the kind words.

I haven't completely given up on having a chocolate element in there somewhere - especially not as the dark malt syrup I made practically screams chocolate

Edited October 11, 2006 by Mette (log)

[Mette]

I'm trying to get my head around what the potential raw ingredients for this challenge might entail...  It's fuzzy to me since I've never been involved with home beer making. 

Pearl barley

barley flour

malted barley grain (can one buy this?  is it wet or dry, in a jar?)

barley flakes

malt extract (syrup or dry powder; is this the same as wort?)

dried hops (the form is dried flower heads)

yeast

If anyone can correct or add to this, I'd appreciate it!

←

You've basically got it right!

In beer there's some form of malted grain, most often barley but sometimes wheat (for weissbier), sometimes some rice/corn is added to give a lighter flavour (mostly in american beer).

Malt extract is used for home brewing, so you don't have to go though the mashing of the grain, but not used an awful lot in commercial brewing.

Wart is the liquid you get from mashing the malt and filtering this. The malt extracts can be used as a shortcut to achieve wart without mashing the grain.

The hops are added for aroma and bitterness and the various types of yeast help develop a certain flavour profile for the beer.

Barley is bought dry - basically just grains of barley that have been malted.

I've come to the conclusion that the primary flavout elements of beer are the various malts and hops (mostly, there is very little yeast left in the beer when it is drunk), som I'm heading towards various elements flavoured with malts and hops.

[Mette]

The marshmallows came out well - like a very sweet, chewy beer - flavoured with malt syrup and hops.

I have now got some basic elements together (i think); beer marshmallows, malted shortbread, dark malt syrup, rauchmalt syrup and a selection of hops so now it is just trying to come up with some overall concept for the dessert - arrghhhhhh Maybe I'll have to do a sampler plate....

Pearl barley is harder to come by than I thought, but I'll keep looking so this road can be explored!

Edited October 11, 2006 by Mette (log)

[Kouign Aman]

Those marshmallows sound really good. Do you really need to do more?

Im still obsessing over that thin ribbon of hops syrup, with its more bitter than sweet portion.

Im now going to stop publicly obsessing over it, and wait eagerly to see how it all turns out.

(will the marshmallow recipe find its way to eGullet?)

[aeschylus]

this is sort of kitschy, but beer marshmallows + malted shortbread make me think s'mores, with the addition of chocolate. would toasting the marshmallows add interesting flavour notes or just kill the subtleties?

what about serving with a hop-infused seltzer or cocktail of some sort?

[gfron1]

(will the marshmallow recipe find its way to eGullet?)

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Its part of the game - all recipes should end up in the recipe gullet once Mette catches her breath.

[LittleIsland]

Stupid question of the day, but what's malt flour made from? Mette, it sounds like you milled your own malt flour but from what? That malt shortbread sounds really good but wondering if it's something we can replicate once you post the recipe...

[Kerry Beal]

Stupid question of the day, but what's malt flour made from?  Mette, it sounds like you milled your own malt flour but from what?  That malt shortbread sounds really good but wondering if it's something we can replicate once you post the recipe...

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As I recall (from about a hundred scotch distillary tours) malt is barley or other grains that have been allowed to germinate, then dried.

Malting produces enzymes that convert starches to sugars, maltose being the most notable.(thank you wikipedia)

I recall in the distillaries where they made their own malt, that the smell as you approached the malt floor was wonderful. And they would ususally give you little samples of the dried malted barley to chew. I'd grab a few for my pocket, better than candy.

[Mette]

Stupid question of the day, but what's malt flour made from?  Mette, it sounds like you milled your own malt flour but from what?  That malt shortbread sounds really good but wondering if it's something we can replicate once you post the recipe...

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When there are recipes to post in recipeGullet they will go in there, but they still need a bit of work

The malt fluor is made of finely ground crystal malt (which has a nice malty, caramelly flavour), milled in the next door neighbour's flour mill and sifted. I have tried googling malt flour but didn't come up with much - it seems most of the references are to powdered malt, which, as I understand it, is a sweetner (I may be wrong - any Koreans out there? some of the references are to korean malt flour...?????) I can see lots of interesting applications for it - I think it would be tasty as an additive in bread.

I've been knocked out by a cold today so not much has happened on the beer/dessert front - I have been toying with the suggestion of making a shot/glass of beer of some sort - someting that looks like a beer but isn't.

I'm going to be very busy for the next couple of days but will check in and be back for the home strech on sunday....hopefully the concept will be fully formed by then

Keep the suggestions coming - as pointed out, the concet can still use some work

Edited October 12, 2006 by Mette (log)