Old Fashioned Beer Bread Food

BEER BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Mix dry ingredients and beer.
• Pour into a greased loaf pan.
• Pour melted butter over mixture.
• Bake 1 hour, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes.
• UPDATED NOTES: This recipe makes a very hearty bread with a crunchy, buttery crust. If you prefer a softer crust (like a traditional bread) mix the butter into the batter instead of pouring it over the top.
• Sifting flour for bread recipes is a must-do. Most people just scoop the 1 cup measure in the flour canister and level it off. That compacts the flour and will turn your bread into a "hard biscuit" as some have described. That's because they aren't sifting their flour! If you do not have a sifter, use a spoon to spoon the flour into the 1 cup measure. Try it once the "correct" way and you will see an amazing difference in the end product.
• I have had many email from you kind folks about using non-alcoholic beverages instead of beer. That is fine to do but I highly recommend adding a packet of Dry Active Yeast or 2 teaspoons of Bread (Machine) Yeast so that you get a proper rise.
• The final result should be a thick, hearty and very tasteful bread, NOT A BRICK! ;).
• Thank you all for the incredibly nice comments and those of you who left a bad review - learn to sift sift SIFT! You will be amazed at the results you get.

OLD-FASHIONED BEER BREAD

Steps:

• Heat milk in microwave until just warmed (about 35 seconds)Dissolve 1 tsp sugar into warm milk.
• Sprinkle yeast over milk mixture and let sit for 10 minutes or until mixture is foamy.
• Heat beer, 2 tbsp sugar, butter, and salt together in a saucepan until butter is just melted.
• Remove from heat and let cool until lukewarm (if it's too hot it will kill the yeast).
• Beat in yeast mixture with a fork.
• Place 4 cups flour into a bowl. Make a well in the center and add the beer mixture and then the yeast mixture.
• Stir with a wooden spoon; mix dough with hands when spoon requires too much effort.
• Place 1/4 cup flour onto work space and turn dough out onto the flour.
• Knead for 10 minutes, adding as much of the remaining flour as the dough will take. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• Lightly grease a large bowl. Place dough in bowl and roll it around until well coated.
• Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for two hours or until dough has doubled in size.
• Punch down dough in the bowl.
• Roll back into a ball and let rest for 10 minutes.
• Divide ball in half and knead each half into a ball.
• Using a rolling pin, gently roll each ball into an 8x11 inch rectangle.
• Starting at the narrow end, roll each rectangle up tightly.
• Pinch the ends and the seams together and place the loaves seam side down into greased loaf pans.
• Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Mix egg yolk and water together.
• Brush the tops of the loaves lightly with egg wash and then slash the tops of the loaves with a large knife (the sharper the better).
• Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until golden.
• Loaves should make a hollow sound when tapped.

YEASTED BEER BREAD

Steps:

• The evening before you want to bake your bread, mix rye flour, salt, beer, 2 cups plus 3 Tbsp. (270 g) bread flour, and ½ cup cold water (65°F-70°F) in the bowl of a stand mixer until a wet, sticky dough forms. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest 20 minutes. (Resting here allows the flour to hydrate and promotes elasticity and gluten development in the dough.)
• Fit bowl with dough on stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Add molasses and yeast and mix on low speed to combine, 1-2 minutes. Increase speed to medium and mix 2 minutes to develop the dough. (Alternatively, you can mix by hand in a medium bowl with a sturdy rubber spatula or dough whisk.) If dough seems dry, add 1-2 Tbsps water.
• Transfer dough to a clean medium bowl and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature overnight (12 hours).
• The following day, transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Gently flatten into a rough square, then bring all 4 corners to the center and pinch together with your fingers. Turn dough over and, using a bench scraper or your hand, push edges of dough under loaf toward the center while rotating to create tension across the top to shape into a ball. Using your hands and dusting with flour as needed, gently rotate ball against surface to tighten further and seal bottom. Generously flour proofing basket with rice or bread flour and invert dough into basket so seam side is up. Cover with a kitchen towel and let sit until dough no longer springs back when poked with your finger, 2-3 hours.
• About 30 minutes before baking bread, place a rack in middle of oven and set Dutch oven with lid on it. Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Cut a round of parchment paper a few inches wider in diameter than the ball of dough. Invert proofing basket onto parchment to release dough (dust off excess flour if desired). Using a lame or a sharp paring knife, cut a crosshatch pattern about ½" deep on surface of dough. These cuts will serve as steam-release vents when the bread expands in the oven.
• Using oven mitts, place preheated (very hot!) Dutch oven on a heat-resistant surface and remove lid. Using parchment paper as handles, carefully place dough inside Dutch oven. Cover and bake 30 minutes. (Covering helps retain enough steam inside the pot to allow the surface of the bread to remain supple and expand.)
• Remove lid and continue to bake bread until crust is a dark mahogany brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 200°F, 15-20 minutes (removing the lid allows the bread's exterior to caramelize and bake into a chewy crust). Using oven mitts, carefully remove pot from oven. Gently invert bread onto a wire rack and let cool before slicing.