Sourdough beer bread

Beer and bread are closely related. There are those who even claim that beer is liquid bread.
Both beer and bread have one thing in common, namely that yeast is used to break down sugar into carbon dioxide and alcohol.
Yes, that is correct. You create alcohol when baking bread, but almost everything evaporates during the baking process.

With that in mind, it is not surprising that beer is a fantastic ingredient when baking bread, but it’s important to use a beer of good quality and lots of taste.
I used a pale ale of a Swedish brand, but you can use whatever beer you like.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT FLOUR AND STARTER

Types of flour used for this recipe.

• 200 g wheat flour, 11.5% protein content.
• 150 g bread flour, 13% protein content.
• 50 g whole rye flour, 8.6% protein content.
• 50 g whole wheat flour, 10 % protein content.

The hydration is 78%

The sourdough starter is a wheat starter with 100% hydration. I took it out from the refrigerator and fed it 3 hours before it was time to bake.
I wanted this bread to have a strong taste of both beer and sourdough, so I chose to put a larger amount of starter straight away, without mixing a levain.

MIXING THE DOUGH

I mixed the flour with the beer and a small amount of water, and let it autolyze for two hours. I intended to use only beer and no water except that which comes with the starter, but the dough felt a bit stiff, so I added a small amount.
After that, I added sourdough starter and salt and incorporated it thoroughly into the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.

BULK FERMENTATION

I performed 4 sets of stretch and fold, spaced out by 30 minutes, then I let the dough rest. Total time for bulk fermentation was 5 hours in room temperature, about 74°F/23°C. How, do you know that the bulk fermentation is ready? I don’t have any straight answer to that. I use to end the bulk fermentation when the dough has risen noticeably and got a smooth surface, perhaps with some bubbles on top. It’s a good sign if you shake the bowl and the dough jiggles.

SHAPING

I decided to shape the dough into a boule. Now, there are probably as many ways to shape a boule that there are bakers. I use this method most of the time.

FINAL RISE

I let the dough ferment in room temperature, 74°F/23°C,  for 1 hour and 15 minutes. But I advise you to not look at the clock because I don’t. Most of the times I use the finger poke test to decide if the loaf is ready or not.

• You make a little imprint on the top of the loaf by pressing your finger on it.
• If the imprint springs back and fills up quickly, the loaf is probably under-proofed.
• If the imprint springs back partly, it means that the loaf is ready to be baked.
• But If the imprint doesn’t recover at all, you probably have an over-proofed loaf

BAKING

Preheat the oven to 480ºF / 250ºC.
Turn out the dough gently on a piece of parchment paper. Score it as desired and load it into the oven, preferably on a baking stone and add steam. The easiest way is to pour water on a preheated baking sheet under the baking stone. Never pour water directly onto the bottom of your oven, because it may crack if you are unlucky. A dutch oven or combo cooker works great as well. Open the oven lid and let out the steam after 15-20 minutes. Bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes.

The taste of this bread is just marvelous because It has a complex mix of impressions from sourdough starter, beer, and flour. I noticed some sweetness and even a hint of licorice, to name a few.

I realize that the end result depends a lot about what kind of beer you are using. Your favorite beer will most certainly give different flavors than mine. That’s what makes this bread so exciting.

Sourdough beer bread

Give your next bread some amazing flavor with your favorite beer. This sourdough beer bread recipe will give you the information you need.

5 from 5 votes

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Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 200 gram Wheat flour with 11.5% protein content.
• 150 gram bread flour with 13% protein content.
• 50 gram rye flour with 8.6% protein content
• 50 gram whole wheat flour with 10% protein content
• 330 gram Beer choose your favorite.
• 100 gram sourdough starter 100% hydration
• 10 gram water
• 10 gram salt

Instructions

 

• Mix all ingredients except salt and starter and let the dough autolyze for one to two hours. Add sourdough starter and salt and incorporate it thoroughly into the dough.
• Perform 3-4 sets of stretch and fold, spaced out with 30 minutes.
• Let the dough rest for about 5 hours at a temperature of 78ºF/25ºC if possible.
• Lightly flour your working surface and dump out the dough. Flatten the dough gently with your hands. Form each piece of dough to a boule. There's a link to an excellent video showing how to form a boule in the recipe notes*.
• Let the loaves rise until they pass the finger poke test. The time required depends a lot on ambient temperature so don't look at the clock.
• Preheat your oven to 480ºF / 250ºC with two oven plates. One to bake the bread on and one just below. If you have a baking stone or dutch oven, use them instead.
• Score the loaves in your preferred pattern and place them in the oven. Pour some water on the plate below and bake each loaf in 35-45 minutes.
• Let the breads cool on wire racks.

Keyword sourdough bread, starter

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