Steeping vs. Mashing

This question comes mainly from how I see recipes presented.  Often I'll see an extract with grain recipe presented where they tell you to steep the grains, obviously.  They will also often give you an all grain version where you are told to simply replace the extract with a certain amount of base grain.  I often don't see any adjustments to the steeping (specialty) grains nor am I told to do anything else them. 

I'm guessing they just assume that  all grain brewers will know to take the specialty grains and mash them with the base grain but it got me wondering.  What would happen if I only mashed the base grain and steeped the specialty grains the way extract brewers do? 

Just curious

More pots to clean?  ;D

As long as the recipe did not mistakenly list a "Must Mash" grain in the steeping grains, then it should all work out.  Seriously, that's the big advantage of AG, in my view.  The many odd-ball grains that require mashing become available for use, opening up so many flavor options.  Plus mashing for the fermentation profile you want. 

My understanding of steeping uses a bag of some kind to soak the grains in water. Theoretically if you had something large enough to steep the grains in instead of Mashing, I guess you could. But it is basically the same thing. In fact you could do both at the same time by adding the Steeping bag to the MT during the Saccrification rest, I don't know why one would but it could be done.

Cheers
Preston

Steeping specialty grains such as crystal, chocolate, and other roasted grains rather than mashing them is because the sugar conversion has already been done inside the grain itself.  Soaking in water releases the flavour and aroma.  Mashing at saccrification temps is necessary with malted grain to produce the enzyme to convert the starch into fermentable sugars.  The wort produced during steeping needs to be added to the the boiler and not the MLT.

How is this represented in BeerSmith?

I still think it is easier to mash it now that I know how.