Sourdough Beer Bread

@PhilScott, If it’s any consolation, years ago (decades, really), I baked a buckwheat bread that could have doubled as a doorstop. It was truly a brick.

Leah

Curling is a great sport but don’t give up bread baking yet.
Your bread looks under baked. What was your baking method (clay baker?), time and temp?
It’s very possible your starter was not active enough before mixing it into the dough.
It’s also possible that dough was overproofed. Higher temp bulk proofing, above 72F, will speed up the proofing process so shorten the proof time to 10 hours.

Thanks for the inspiration! I made a loaf with my husband’s homebrew (a chocolate peanut butter stout) and some smoked, dried chilis. It turned out fantastic! The bread is at 77% hydration, and it’s a riff on the smoky chili bread from Sarah Owen’s Sourdough.

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@wildtomato, that looks GORGEOUS! I have yet to make a sourdough beer bread, but making one is definitely on my mind. It’s deciding just WHAT type of beer to use? My husband and I enjoy different types of beers. I typically do not keep any in the house though. Decisions, decisions, LOL! I am curious as to what types of beer would work best in a sourdough loaf. Any suggestions?

Leah

Thank you, @Leah! It was a wet dough and I experimented by using my stand mixer to develop the gluten before all the stretch and folds. I was crossing my fingers all through the bake!

As for other beers to try, I’m partial to dark beers myself, like ambers, stouts, and porters, for baking. The other beers we have on hand are extremely hoppy IPAs and DIPAs which I think would taste too medicinal in the bread. Maybe a German beer would pair well, like a doppelbock or a hefeweizen?

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@wildtomato, I’m especially fond of hefeweizen! And in Autumn, wouldn’t a nice pumpkin ale make a good beer bread? Just thinking ahead, LOL…!

Leah

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I use King Arthur Flour weight conversion page

I agree. For most recipes on this site, I’ve found after 30 minutes in a covered vessel, only a few extra minutes are needed for color. The bread is clearly cooked through, and any more time uncovered burns the crust. I go for about 34 minutes. 4 uncovered. And that goes with both 500 for 30 minutes, and the variation turning it down to 450 after 20 minutes. And I’ve baked at least 100 loaves in 2 separate ovens. One a standard oven, the latest a pro level.

Yes LBH, I’ve discovered this problem as well. I’ve baked this recipe several times with the same results, way to soupy to work with. I always end up having to add a considerable amount of flour to shape a loaf. Otherwise, it’s a sticky frustrating mess. And then when I add the four late in the game, it doesn’t rise well probably because it’s overworked.

I’ll use a flavorful porter for a dark bread.a white beer bread a pale ale or IPA works well. I used my gingerbread porter and carraway seeds to make a dark bread the was great with smoked Gouda. I’ve also made bread with Mead

@Brewcat, Mead! I’ve got some dark cherry mead sitting around that I brewed with some friends of mine years ago. I’d forgotten I even had it! Hmmm…the possibilities…!

Leah

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Well make sure you taste it Mead gets better with age. Maybe you’ll decide to drink it instead. If not use in the bread as you would beer. It might be fun to make a bread with it and some dried cherries


Spaten Octoberfest Wheat Sourdough.

I’m now after years of experimenting, doubling my rising times, and am very happy with the results. I’ve been going almost 24 hours on the rise before the proofing basket as usual 1.5 hours.
I’ve also discovered the beer is best when resting in a bowl in the refrigerator for a whole 24 hours before mixing my 2 hour autolyse of just flour, beer, and salt. Then comes in a whole scant cup of sourdough.

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Great recipe! Used Anchor Steam for the beer. Bread came out nicely sour, with noticeable tang from the beer. I used 60 grams of water (next time I’ll use 50 because my flour tends to absorb less water). For the red fife, I substituted KA whole wheat white flour. 12 hour bulk ferment at 73 degrees. I incorporated 6 stretch and folds at the beginning (3 @ 15 min apart and 3 @ 30 min apart). After the initial autolyse, I added in a rye starter (125% hydration) and let that sit for 30 min before mixing in the salt and water.

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Looks amazing! A bit involved time wise, but clearly worth it.

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First try at this one - I used a can of St. Bernardus Belgian wit beer . I’m still a pretty amateur baker and there are some things I could improve (I got a big crust split on one side), but the flavor and texture were great! Crust wasn’t too hard compared to the interior. Thanks for the recipe!

Hello there
Thank you for sharing this great recipe. I was really looking forward to abking it and followed exactly the instructions. Unfortunately my dough is very soupy and gooey. What did I do wrong? I did use whole wheat flour and all purpose white flour. It has to rest 12 hours and I am not sure the consistency will change.
Thank you for your time.

Best, Babett

I would work a little more flour into the dough if you feel it’s very wet. The elasticity will improve over time, but the dough won’t feel dryer. I actually had to do this to a dough today about 30 minutes after the initial mixing. Just make sure you don’t leave dry lumps in the dough. Good luck!

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Great thread! I’m working on an experiment using an extended (24 hour refrigerated) autolyse/fermentation using a VonSeitz Theorteticales “Never Leave Amsterdam” beer, naturally fermented no added yeast. The autolyse was made with 40% turkey Red and 60% KABF at 78% hydration, left on the counter 2/3 hours to initiate (primary?) fermentation with no added starter then into the fridge overnight. I got a beautiful fermentation, so much so that I am making another starter out of this recipe! It came out extremely wet and looked, felt and handled like a 90% hydration ciabatta dough. I added the salt, I was hoping this would tighten it up some, and the starter, mixed and started a series of 4 stretch and folds at 20 min intervals which I deemed added sufficient structure. I put it into the fridge overnight. When I took it out it was again too wet and loose, re: ciabatta, so I added more KABF and remixed to a suitable structure and that’s where we are now, letting it proof. I am going to treat it like a ciabatta or no knead and cook it without using a final shape and proof at 475 in a cast iron pot because I don’t want to deflate it .

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I use beer in almost all my breads. I’ve been actually using some leftover wort lately with great success. The yeast loves the extra sugar. When I use beer I let it go flat. Also using a bottle conditioned beer really works great with the extra yeast from the bottle. I’ve also added some krausen to my dough which really worked nice. I also don’t dilute the beer or wort. The carmalized crust of a bourbon barrel Porter beer is best IMO. The Witbier is a good choice for a lighter loaf

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