My Husband loves bread and since the first lockdown in March 2020 I have been making fresh bread a lot more often for my family.
This loaf was made as a bit of a joke as I said I would combine my husbands love of bread with his love of beer. He was a bit horrified when I was heating beer up in a pan at 8am!
I used a local beer to me but you can use any “blonde” beer you like. This was the second time I tried to make this bread as the first time I tried to make it the beer had miraculously evaporated out of the bottle one Sunday afternoon when the F1 was on!!!!!!!!!!
Bread takes time and patience. If you rush bread you will not get very good results. You will need to set aside the time to get great results and it’s well worth the time and effort.
I make my bread in a stand mixer due to my health issues I don’t have the strength to knead bread and to be honest I have been really happy with the results using the dough hook in my mixer.
Put the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer, add salt to one side of the bowl and yeast to the other side.
Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the oil.
Warm the beer on a low heat until it is at a tepid temperature. I used a local beer to me but any “blonde“ beer will work.
Put the bowl on the stand mixer with the dough hook and add 3/4 of the beer.
Mix on low speed until it forms a soft and slightly sticky dough. Keep adding the remaining beer - it will be slightly sticky.
Then continue to mix for 12 minutes - this will change the dough from sticky to a lovely smooth dough. Do not be tempted to add more flour.
While this is mixing, oil a large bowl.
After 12 minutes transfer the dough from the stand mixer to the prepared bowl and cover with oiled clingfilm.
Place the bowl somewhere warm and leave to prove and double in size for 1-2 hours.
On a lightly floured surface take the bread dough and “knock it back”. This means to knock the air bubbles out of the dough. Use your nuckles and fold the dough over and over. You will hear air bubbles popping - continue to do this until all the air bubbles have gone.
Grease a 2lb loaf tin with oil and set aside.
Shape the dough into an oblong shape.
Place in the prepared tin and cover.
Leave in warm place to prove again until the loaf reaches the top of the tin.
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees centigrade (200 Fan)
Glaze with milk or egg wash and score the top of the loaf with a sharp knife or a bread lame.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for 35 minutes.
Tip the loaf out of the tin and tap the base. If it sounds hollow then it is ready - if not bake for another 5 minutes and test again.
Beer Bread Loaf
Sarah’s servings: 12
Sarah's skill: Medium
Baking time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
500g Strong white bread flour
7g of dried yeast
1 tsp table salt
25g Olive oil
320ml Beer (at a tepid temperature)
Method
Put the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer, add salt to one side of the bowl and yeast to the other side.
Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the oil.
Warm the beer on a low heat until it is at a tepid temperature.
Put the bowl on the stand mixer with the dough hook and add 3/4 of the beer and mix on low speed until it forms a soft and slightly sticky dough. Keep adding the remaining beer - it will be slightly sticky.
Then continue to mix for 12 minutes - this will change the dough from sticky to a lovely smooth dough. Do not be tempted to add more flour.
While this is mixing, oil a large bowl. After 12 minutes transfer the dough from the stand mixer to the prepared bowl and cover with oiled clingfilm.
Place the bowl somewhere warm and leave to prove and double in size for 1-2 hours.
Once it has doubled in size knock back the dough to get rid of any air bubbles.
Shape the dough and place in an oiled 2lb loaf tin and cover. Leave in warm place to prove again until the loaf reaches the top of the tin.
Preheat the oven to 220 degrees centigrade (200 Fan)
Glaze with milk or egg wash then score the top of the loaf with a sharp knife or a bread lame. Then bake in the pre-heated oven for 35 minutes.
Tip the loaf out of the tin and tap the base. If it sounds hollow then it is ready - if not bake for another 5 minutes and test again.
Sarah’s extra slice.......
The biggest bit of advice I can give when making bread is time and patience! Don’t try and make bread if you don’t have plenty of time to set aside. Rushing bread will only result in a dense loaf.
I use a bread slasher as it is much sharper than a knife. If the knife is not sharp it can deflate your bread.
To get your kneaded dough out of the bowl when it is a bit sticky use a flexible dough scraper.
Wow! I always make my own bread using my trusty panasonic but have been meaning to make this for some time. One of our favourite meals is sausages with beans and hot batch bread. So today I made this. My husband did not stop going on about how great it is, the flavour is absolutely incredible with a truly lovely crumb x