Beer Bread: Breaking Bread

Some months ago I made a loaf of beer quick bread. It was mighty tasty but had the drawback of all quick breads — no real structure. This made it unsuitable for uses like sandwiches because it would fall apart. Nor was it a candidate for rolls, although muffins would have been doable. At any rate, what I wanted was a yeast-based beer bread.

When Thanksgiving came rolling around I decided beer rolls would be good with dinner as well as for making marvelous turkey sandwiches so I set out to craft a such a bread.

I wanted a whole wheat bread because I thought it would play best with the beer. But it’s sometimes tricky to get a good rise out of 100 percent whole wheat (the fragments of bran tend to cut the gluten strands) so I needed to add some bread flour to increase the bread’s lightness. I added sugar because beer and whole wheat tend to be a somewhat bitter and I chose a nut brown ale as the beer thinking it would be hearty enough to stand out and yet not overwhelming. Here’s the recipe I came up with:

Whole Wheat Beer Bread
Makes 1 loaf or 16 rolls.

2 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp sugar
12 oz warm nut brown ale
2 1/4 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c bread flour — separated
1 1/2 tbsp butter — melted
2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt

Using the paddle attachment thoroughly combine yeast, whole wheat flour, 1 1/4 cup bread flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and sugar. Add butter to warm beer and, with mixer running, pour beer into dry ingredients. As the dough forms swap paddle attachment for dough hook.

Knead for six minutes at medium speed. The dough should be slightly sticky but should clear the bowl. Add additional flour if needed. Dump dough onto a floured board and knead another minute or two until dough is fairly smooth (it won’t be as smooth as a white bread) and resilient. Allow to rest 5 to 10 minutes.

Clean and dry mixing bowl and spray with a nonstick spray. Shape dough into a ball and place seam-side down in bowl. Spritz top lightly with cooking spray and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in bulk — 60 to 90 minutes.

Punch down dough and turn out onto floured board. Lightly knead dough and form into a flattened ball. Allow to rest five to 10 minutes.

To make a loaf, shape dough into a rectangle that will fir in a 9″ x 4.25″ greased loaf pan. Cover and allow to rise until doubled in bulk.

To make rolls, using a dough scraper cut dough in four equal quarters. Set three quarters aside and cover. Shape remaining quarter into a flattened ball and divide into four quarters. Shape each quarter in to a ball and place on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Flatten each ball. Repeat for remaining dough, cover, and allow to rise until rolls double in bulk.

Heat oven to 425F for loaf or 400F for rolls.

In small bowl, beat together egg and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Brush loaf or rolls with egg mixture and bake on middle oven rack. Rolls will need about 25 minutes, the load will need about 40 minutes. Monitor closely to avoid overcooking.

Cool on a wire rack.

The rolls turned out beautifully and were good with dinner as well as making great little turkey sandwiches.