Sourdough Malt Beer Bread

Donna M.'s Note:

Experiment with different beers in this bread.

• Total Time: 20 hrs
• Prep Time: 20 hrs
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 12

Yield: 1.0 loaf

• 2 tablespoons sourdough starter
• 1 cup white bread flour
• ½ cup rye flour
• 1 ½ cups water
• ½ cup malt beer
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar , packed
• 2 tablespoons butter , melted
• 1 ½ cups rye flour
• 1 ½ cups white bread flour

Directions:

1. Sourdough Build: Mix the first four ingredients together. Cover loosely and let sit at room temperature for 12 to 16 hours.
2. Dough: Measure out 2 cups of the sourdough build mixture (discard extra).
3. Add beer, salt, sugar and butter.
4. Mix in the flours.
5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it is smooth and satiny.
6. Cover dough and let it rest for 20 minutes.
7. Shape into desired loaf--freeform or pan loaf.
8. Proof, covered, until dough doubles in size. this may take several hours.
9. Preheat oven to 375°.
10. Slash loaf with a very sharp blade.
11. Bake for 30 to 50 minutes, depending on shape of loaf.
12. Remove from pan (if used) and cool on wire rack.

Reviews

[Anne La Quebecoise]

This bread had a wonderful taste, but even after an eight hour rise, it hadn't doubled! I had to bake it then anyway, since my guests were about to arrive and we needed it for supper. I'll definitely make this again, hoping it will rise better next time.

[duonyte]

It'll be interesting how different beers change the taste - I used Don Miguel, a dark lager from the Phillipines, with a sweetish taste. Bread was quite dark, no real sweetness to it, excellent with cheese and prosciutto. I baked this into rolls. Dough was quite sticky - I added flour, but ended up with a stickier than usual dough, afraid to add much more!

[AKillian24]

This ranks up there as my new favorite whole-grain bread. The sourdough tang with the hearty rye is always a great combination – but here it is rounded out very nicely with the addition of beer. I used Killian’s Red (of course!) which was a great flavor. The rye flour in it makes for a longer rise time, but well worth it. While I liked the bread for it’s depth, DH adored it because it was a hearty, but snackable bread to go with an array of dips, cheeses and soups. The crust on this bread really ‘crunches’ for a great dipping, appetizer snack. I served this with an olive curry dip for Thanksgiving. I have since used it with spinach-artichoke dip and a turkey soup. It does take a good while to rise – 3 hours for me. For the rustic look, I sprinkled a bit of whole wheat flour on top, did not slash it and let it bake it according to Donna’s instructions. I used the ABM to mix the dough.