I'll describe where I'm at. To hydrate my hard wheat I put it in scalding hot water and keep it warm for 90 minutes before cranking up the heat and maintaining a gentle simmer until the grains no longer have a dry spot inside and they are on the verge of bursting. That's 20 to 30 minutes of simmering for me. I then drain and rinse it, pour it on a towel, shovel it into the jars, PC and inoculate when cooled.
On some cultures they stall for several days when trying to colonize the top surface of the grain, almost like they are inhibited by lowered humidity. My GE shouldn't be that high. On some jars they just don't colonize the jar as fast as I know they are theoretically capable.
Now a clue. When I shoot in the inoculum if I leave it pooled on the bottom those grains will absorb it within half a day and turn a shade lighter in color. My grains cooked to near bursting are still thirsty. I think this is holding back growth.
My question is this: has anyone tried soaking fully cooked grain in cold water for some period to further hydrate it before loading into jars?
If so, how long did you gainfully soak, and how could you tell when soaking longer would be bad?
If nothing else I could just cold soak until they turn the color of the grains at the bottom of the LI injected jars, but a guy can always hope for a sneak preview