Vortbrod Beer Bread Food

VöRTBRöD (SWEDISH "WORT" BREAD)

Steps:

• Place the rye flour into a large heat proof bowl.
• Pour the boiling water over the flour and stir until all of the flour is incorporated.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest overnight, and up to 24 hours.
• Warm the beer until it reaches about 90 to 95 degrees F.
• In a small bowl, add 35 grams of the beer. Sprinkle the instant yeast over the beer and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes, until creamy.
• Add the butter to the pan with the rest of the beer and heat until the butter begins to melt. Remove from the heat and stir until the butter fully melts.
• Add half of the beer/butter mixture to the scalded rye and mix with your hands.
• Add the all purpose flour, orange zest, spices, and the yeast mixture. Slowly add the rest of the beer mixture and continue to mix with your hands until you have a smooth sponge.
• Cover and let rise until doubled in volume, about an hour.
• Add the flour, salt, and syrup to the sponge, and mix with your hands to incorporate everything. Continue to work the flour into the sponge with your hands. Use a dough scraper to help scrape the sides of the bowl to incorporate the ingredients into the center of the dough. This process should take about 3 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto your work surface. Begin gently stretching the dough over itself and then flipping it over on your counter. Repeat this process for about about 5 minutes. The dough should become a little more cohesive.
• With floured hands, form the dough into a ball and add it back into the bowl, cover, and let rest for 30 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto your work surface and press it into a flat circle, and then form it into a ball again. Place the ball back into the bowl, cover, and let rise again for 30 to 40 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 480 degrees F with a baking stone on the middle rack, and a steam pan on the lowest rack.
• Dust your work surface with flour and turn the dough out with the smooth side down. Divide the dough with a bench knife into two pieces. Form each piece into a ball, and let rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
• Flatten and roll each piece of dough into an oblong cylinder, trying to keep a uniform width from end to end. Place the dough onto a floured tea towel or couche, cover, and let rise until doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Place the loaves onto a parchment lined baking peel and slash the tops widthwise about 4 to 5 times.
• Bring two cups of water to a boil and carefully add it to the steam pan (cover the oven window with a dish towel while you are pouring the water to protect it, then remove the towel) and close the oven door.
• Slide the loaves, parchment and all, onto the baking stone.
• Bake the loaves for 5 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 375 degrees F.
• Bake the loaves for 25 to 35 minutes, until the loaves reach an interior temperature of about 200 degrees F.
• Wrap the finished loaves in tea towels to cool completely on a wire rack.

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.