I came up with this recipe to solve the problem I have with most beer breads – namely that they are too light, too sweet, and never use up a whole bottle of beer. This one is perfect – dense and nutty from the whole wheat flour, with a deep malty flavor and subtle saltiness that makes it the perfect foil for salted butter at breakfast time.
Whole Wheat Beer Bread
Inspired by Ali’s Honey Beer Bread at Gimme Some Oven
168g (1 1/2 c) all-purpose flour
170g (1 1/2 c) whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp honey
4 tbsp butter, melted
12 oz. (one bottle) beer, preferably something malty.
Rolled oats, for sprinkling (optional)
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
This is a quick bread, which means that devotees of Alton Brown will be unsurprised to discover that we’ll be employing the muffin method – the wet and dry ingredients will be assembled separately, then wet is added to dry and briefly mixed to combine.
So let’s start with the dry ingredients. Combine both flours, the baking powder and the salt in a medium mixing bowl and whisk thoroughly to combine. You could also sift everything together, but I find that the wheat germ and bran can get stuck in the sifter mesh, which sort of defeats the purpose of using whole wheat flour in the first place.
Melt the butter in a small bowl, then add the honey. If you want, you can microwave the honey for a few seconds so it pours more easily. Mix the two together, then add the beer. If your beer is cold, the butter might solidify again. You’ll be able to tell if the mixture looks a bit curdled. Don’t worry about it – it won’t affect how the bread comes out.
Pour the beer mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until they’re just combined and no dry pockets of flour remain. Pour the batter into a greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan (or whatever you have around – quick breads are pretty forgiving), and sprinkle the top with rolled oats if you want to.
Bake for 40-60 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. You’re supposed to let the bread cool to room temperature so the proteins can set before you cut into it, but so far I haven’t managed it.
This bread makes fantastic toast. I love it glazed with orange marmalade or thickly spread with salted butter and honey.
Jessica Norton 