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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Yeasted Beer Bread

Who ever said 'man cannot live by bread alone' was surely mistaken. Cuz, yeah...I'm pretty sure I could live by bread alone.  GOOD bread.  Then again, I'm not a man.  I'm a woman.  Oh wait...that was somewhere in the bible, wasn't it?  Hold the sermons.  I'm just sayin'.  I think it's the whole process, though.  That gets me.  From the initial kneading...where you can get in a groove and push and pull your frustrations away.  To the satisfaction of seeing the dough rise and knowing the yeasties are happy.  To the smell...oh, the smell...the magical, inviting scent of bread baking.  Then there's the breaking of the bread.  Sharing it with others.  Ripping it off...chewing...savoring...pleasing your belly.   Seeing the wonder spread across the face of those who see a loaf of freshly baked bread.  Hearing the comfort of those who are well-fed.  Rolled all into one...this satisfies me on a deeper level...satisfies my soul. 

Good Bread.  
Really, REALLY Good Bread.
or Yeasted Beer Bread
recipe found at meandering wildly

1# unbleached AP flour
12 oz. beer, at room temp.
2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. yeast (regular or instant)

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir in the beer with a wooden spoon.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead...adding a bit more flour as needed...for ~8 minutes.  Bread should be pretty elastic...but will still be a bit tacky to the touch.

Place in lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean dish towel.  Let rise until doubled, usually a couple of hours.  Punch it down and let it rise another time, until doubled.  At this point, cover bowl with plastic and refrigerate overnight.  The next day, take out and let it come back to room temperature and rise until doubled again.

Punch down dough again, then form into a loaf...any shape you desire...on a piece of parchment paper.  Cover and let rise until doubled in size, ~1½ hours.  Preheat oven to 450° F, with a stone on the middle rack during last ½ hour of rising.  Slash the top of the loaf and sprinkle with a bit of flour, for a rustic look.

Slide the loaf (parchment and all) onto the baking stone.  Throw two ice cubes* somewhere into the oven not on the bread itself, just onto the bottom and shut door.  Five minutes into cooking, quickly throw a couple more ice cubes into the oven.  Bake for ~25 minutes, or until loaf is golden and cooked through.

*The ice cubes will form steam which will condense on the dough...which is gonna give you a killer crust!  Seriously...I impressed myself with this loaf.

It's good just ripped off and eaten slathered with a bit of homemade butter...or sliced for sammies...or eaten alongside a bowl of soup...or alongside a comforting plate of roasted meat & veg and used to sop up the juices.  This is so simple...and the flavors that were developed by letting it rise and punching it down and repeating over the course of two days were so worth it.  Deep, yeasty, beery, earthy...perfection.




*This post is linked to:
BBD33 BYOB YeastSpotting
TwoforTuesdays@girlichef
*Enter your Two for Tuesdays links here

Give me a loaf of bread, a bottle of wine, a hunk of cheese...and possibly some fruit or meat to go with it, and I'm a happy girl!

Would you like to comment?

  1. I so love bread! This looks mighty tasty! I'm so on my way over!

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  2. Beautiful loaf! You have been bitten, my dear!♥

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  3. THIS is why bread machines are a sacrilege!!! This is what bread is meant to be, in all its glory ... :)

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  4. cracking up at tossing ice cubes into the oven!!! I really do want to try this bread out...it looks amazing! Love the crust and that crumb....OMG!

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  5. Me too, and I could probably do away with that whole loaf by the time I finished off the cheese & wine! ;)

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  6. Wow...using beer to make bread...new to me. Your loaf looks perfect to me. I love homemade bread......smells so good and tastes so good.....mmmm

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  7. Vaya pan que te has marcado en esta receta. Se ve super crujiente y perfecto. Saludos

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  8. Wow, this looks so good, I actually have bread on the agenda this week but may need to adjust to make this loaf!

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  9. I agree with Natashya - absolutely beautiful loaf!! I'm jealous.

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  10. I need a big chunk of this beautiful loaf of bread to dunk in my homemade soup today. Thanks!

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  11. Um yeah. I also could totally live on bread alone. Anyone who says they couldn't just hasn't had good bread. I'm convinced. This looks awesome!

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  12. You and my sister have much in common - a healthy (?) obsession of bread!

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  13. What, no chocolate???

    Love the bread! Baking my loaf today, but just some rolls and a little French bread, nothing that will look as spectacular as this!

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  14. I think I could smell it as I was reading. Bread, wine, cheese.....it's 5:30 a.m. here and it sounds good. lol

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  15. I totally understand the feeling =] I love making bread! This looks really good! I've never made bread like this before- why is it called beer bread??

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  16. Hey Von...just because of beer being used as the liquid...you could use water, but I loooove the flavor that is imparted from using a beer =)

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  17. Baking bread is one of life's great pleasures and so rewarding. This loaf has a gorgeous crust and I like the idea of throwing ice cubs in instead of pans of water, etc. I'll definitely have to try the ice cube trick next time:)

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  18. That is one gorgeous loaf of bread! There's nothing more comforting than the smell of bread baking in the oven. I've never tried the ice cubes before, but if that's what it takes to get a crust like yours I'm trying it! BEEYOOOTEEFULL!!!

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  19. Heh, I think whoever said that meant you also need beer. ;) The bread looks awesome!

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  20. Your bread looks fantastic, beautifully rustical I would say. Great job!

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  21. Not only could I live on bread alone, I actually live for bread! That is just beautiful and what an absolutely gorgeous crust. Thanks for the ice cube tip. I'll definately be trying this.

    Thanks for hosting T4T! I contributed a much less impressive, though still tasty, roasted corn salsa.

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  22. BEER! Did someone say beer? Oh, I'm so there!

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  23. Mmmm, this looks so delish! I love homemade bread. There's nothing better than a fresh loaf!
    Cheers~

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  24. The aroma filled my head. The crust is amazing. Ice cubes, mmmm - they're handy. One gorgeous loaf. Perfect with some preserves... butter... real butter... or alone.

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  25. Ok... this post has me totally drooling!!!!!!

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  26. I think that freshly made bread sitting on the counter is "Elegant." Hi girliechef, hope all is well. See what you've gone and done! Now I feel like making bread and I have the ingredients, but it's going to be sooooo hot today. Maybe tomorrow early morning. Thanks for sharing.

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  27. Fab-U-Lous! I love baking bread and this is now a must on my list! It is gorgeous! I just posted my Bread with Booze for BBD #33 as well... lotsa rum, baby!

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  28. i love this! crusty homemade bread it the best!

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  29. Ohhhh heather! This bread is CALLING to me! What beer did you use again? do you think you need a fancy schmancy beer? I am so gonna make this for my next loaf instead of sourdough! :) Yippeee thanks for hosting and posting on the hop! Alex

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  30. I am really liking the sound of this recipe! It looks absolutely delish in the photos too!

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  31. I love making a good loaf of artisan bread on my stone. If you were close by, I'd trade you a pot of pest to dip that bread in for a warm slice. I KNOW I could live on bread alone. I'd be fat and happy.

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  32. Growing up, beer bread was one of my mom's stand-by recipes, but it was a quick bread, I think it used self-rising flour. I can still taste it toasted - yummy!

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  33. Alex...No, I don't think you have to go fancy shmancy!! I've made it twice...once using Amber Bock once using Killian's Red (I like the darker beers). Experiment w/ pales & lagers...they'll all give it its own personality!! You can do this with just a one day, double rise and it'll be really good...but doing the overnight thing and a two day rise really adds a whole 'nother level of goodness & depth!!!

    Bonnie...Oh, I wish!!!

    Butter...I recently made a non-yeasted loaf, too...equally as delicious, but totally different. I love it either way. Bread, Bread, Bread...give me BREAD! ;-)

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  34. Yeast to make bread and who ever thought milk, cream and sugar would taste amazing frozen have got to be the two best food creations known to man! This looks delicious!!!

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  35. wow bread looks so perfect n inviting ...thanks for sharing dear

    Satya
    http://www.superyummyrecipes.com

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  36. Wow... living by bread alone is looking pretty good right now... There is nothing like a big loaf of homemade bread! (I've never made bread with beer and yeast at the same time - very intriguing...) Yummy post!

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  37. I almost feel like I can tear off a chunk of that bread!! It is awesome!

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  38. Beer.in.bread. My husband would be in heaven, well me too for that matter. It is all this bread goodness that keeps me from eating g/f like I should. The ice trick is so cool - love it! Another marvelous Two for Tuesdays post!

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  39. Now THAT is a beautiful loaf of bread. And I'm with you, there's something so cathartic about kneading bread. For me, butter is frosting on the top of the cake. I could live off of bread and butter alone.

    thanks for sharing!

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  40. Beer and bread...two of my most favorite things! I would gladly take a slice :)

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  41. A gorgeous loaf, wonderful!

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  42. I'm going to make this bread with a hazelnut beer! Hazelnut beer bread sounds delicious!!!

    Thanks for the recipe!

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  43. OH!! I love the taste n smell of fresh home made bread..this looks perfect!!

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  44. That's a great-looking loaf! I don't think I've ever made beer bread, and that needs to change. Can't wait to try it!

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  45. Great loaf! It makes me want a nice hunk of cheese to go with it!

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  46. I know it sounds duplicitous, but I'd love to have this with a bowl of beer cheese soup.

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  47. Hi

    I’m your newest follower from the blog hop
    http://abundanceyeah.blogspot.com/2010/09/many-flavors-of-salsa-jalapeno-carrot.html

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