Beer Bread

Beer Bread

Part 1

1 C. whole wheat flour

¼ C. toasted wheat germ

2 C. boiling water

–Mix all together and let rest for at least 2 hours. (24 hours is best.  Cover tightly and place mix in fridge the night before.  Bring to room temperature before proceeding to part 2)

Part 2

Whole wheat flour mixture

2 ½ C bread flour + 3 C more set aside for later use

½ C sorghum flour (In the Natural Food section)

½ C sour dough starter*

1 T rapid rise yeast (This can be skipped, but you will then have to allow extra time for the dough to rise-could be another hour to another day—any sort of condition– from the temperature of your kitchen, how strong your natural yeasts are, how humid is the weather, to how old your flour is can affect the rise time. How patient are you?)

¼ C dark brown sugar

2 T unsalted butter

½ C warm (105-115f) milk

½ C dark beer

1 T sea salt

1. Melt butter and sugar into milk. Cool to required temperature. Mix all ingredients thoroughly  except for the 3 extra cups of bread flour. A stand mixer works best here, but you can use a wooden spoon. Add as much of the rest of the flour until the mix pulls away from the side of the bowl or you can’t move the spoon anymore. Turn out onto a lightly floured suface and knead until smooth and springy, adding flour as needed to keep it from sticking to the surface. This can take anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes depending on how you mixed the original dough.

2. Place into an oiled bowl large enough to allow the dough to triple in size and cover tightly. This will take from 1-2 hours depending on the room temperature.

3. Press the dough down to deflate.

4. Lightly spray two 8”by 4” bread pans.  Divide the dough in half and shape.  Let rise until doubled (top of dough is 1” above the rim of the pan).

5. Bake for 30-40 minutes in a 425F oven or until a insta-read  measures at least 160 degrees when poked into the bottom of the loaf

6. Remove from the pans and let cool completely on a wire rack. Can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and foil and stored for about a month.

*See sourdough starter recipe