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French Canadian Beer Bread

PostPosted: Sunday Jul 20, 2008 4:25 am
by JoeStone
I'm French and Canadian, so the name is apt! Doubt this is an ancient recipe however, I developed it myself.

Ingredients:

1 bottle of preferred beer (330-375ml bottles, whatever size you like)
- I have used Lagers, Pilsners and Stouts before, all make good bread but with different flavours.
1/2 Cup Warm Water
1.5 Tablespoons Active Dry Yeast (NOT instant yeast!)
1 Tablespoon Salt
1 Tablespoon White Sugar
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
Approximately 6 Cups Unbleached White Flour
(Or whatever you have)
1/2 Cup Chopped Onion
3/4 Cup Grated Cheddar Cheese


Method:

In a small mixing bowl, put in Warm Water and add yeast. Lightly stir and let sit for 10 minutes or so, until frothy.

In large mixing bowl, add 3 cups flour, the sugar and the salt.

When yeast has become frothy, add it to the large mixing bowl along with the oil. Pop the cap or cork from your bottle of brew, shed a tear for it but realise that it is going to a wonderful place. Take a sip, then pour the rest into the bowl.

Begin whisking together the ingredients until it resembles a very delicious smelling batch of pancake batter, free from lumps. Ditchj the whisk in favour of a sturdy wooden spoon at this point. Begin adding and mixing additional flour in at about 1/2 cup at a time. Continue doing such until the flour becomes too strurdy to stir with the spoon.

When that occurs, add the cheese and onions, and begins kneading the dough with your hands. Continue adding less and less flour to the mix each time the dough gets sticky and tacky. Keep it up until the dough is elastic but not sticky. My method of telling when this occurs if when the dough no longer cling to every crevace of your hands.

When this point has been reached, continue kneading the dough for about 5 minutes or so, or until your forearms feel like they are on fire. If you are a wimp, you may want to keep going for a minute or two after a short rest, just to make sure.

Now, take another mixing bowl, or quickly clean out the one you were using, coat it lightly in oil and plop the dough inside, turning it over so it is covered in the oil as well. Add a dishcloth, or a sheet of tinfoil if you want my exact method, and place somewhere warm. I fill my wash-basin about 3-inches deep with hot water and place the bowl in there. Let the dough rise for about an hour.

When risen, remove the ccover, punch down the dough and knead it one or twice. Let it rest whilst you prepare a pair of bread pans. Coeat the pans lightly in oil, then split the dough evenly in twain. Roll them lightlky to make them smoothe and drop into the pans. Cover these and let rise for an hour in a similar mode to before.

About 10 minutes or so before that time is up, preheat your oven to 375 degrees (190 celcius).

Bake the bread for about 30 minutes or when the top crust is golden.

Remove from stove and let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn out the loaves onto a wire rack to cool. If you like softer crusts, brush butter over the top. If you enjoy crispier bread, leave as is.

Let the bread cool, then slice and enjoy. Or if you are like me, burn your damn fingers trying to cut off a slice to eat with butter while it is still clocking in at 375 degrees farenheight.

Great for sandwiches, grilled cheese or whatever you like!

Re: French Canadian Beer Bread

PostPosted: Sunday Jul 20, 2008 11:10 am
by KEG
awesome looking recipe :-)

also, 375F = 190C, for the benefit of those not cooking this in Canada :P

Re: French Canadian Beer Bread

PostPosted: Sunday Jul 20, 2008 1:59 pm
by JoeStone
KEG wrote:also, 375F = 190C, for the benefit of those not cooking this in Canada :P


Whoops! Sorry about that! Ignorant Canuck forgets he's on a forum based on the opposite end of the planet :oops: