I tried using a bottle of Festina Peche last night hoping for a sweet/tart fruity flavor, but the baking process kind of killed the flavors and aromas. Any good suggestions for next time? PS - I am planning on doing an oatmeal/hefe bread this week, hope it turns out ok.
Bad beers. Seriously. I've baked dozens of loaves of beer bread, and I've noticed little enough difference between them that I'd rather toss in the cheapest beer that I can possibly find than one that I actually want to drink.
I suppose that makes sense... darn, guess I spent $5 on 2 beers for nothing then, eh? I'm guessing stouts and porters are still alright to use?
Does the beer need to be fresh in order to serve its purpose? I have a few cases of dated Palate wrecker 22's that I'd like to convert to bread.
Something malty works best to compliment the existing flavors of the bread. I try and use a brown ale, sometimes opting for English bitters and even porters.
Malty beers. I'd stay away from IPAs and other hop heavy beers, and most fruit beer isn't fruity enough to have a big impact.
Brown ales if you are buying something specifically to use. Otherwise use whatever dark beer that you are not gonna drink. There are lots of recipes out there for Guinness bread and I used to make it all the time. I would say stay away from the hoppy stuff
Stouts and porters will make the break a bit darker in color, and a bit richer in taste, but the difference is pretty small between a good stout, and the cheapest cans of pisswater you can find. When we make beer break I just use the can of AAL that people leave at my house at times. Works fine.
Dark Czech or Munich lager. Use half rye flour half strong bread flour, then add some fresh yeast and sugar to the beer before mixing.
Definite "dated". For how damn good that beer was fresh, I feel like even with some age it would still be decent - and if you've already paid for it, why not drink it?
Off the top of my head I believe that it is probably a year out from when its born on date. I paid next to nothing for it.
New glarus fruit beers! maybe for those of you out of state they are too precious but Belgian red beer bread or serendipity and my personal favorite apple ale (just ask @queens1130) are the best. Also I have baked beer bread many times and your recipes may vary but in my experience the simpler the better along these lines ideally http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/6717/beer-bread-i/ all the flavor should come from the beer. You can also use any carbonated beverage sodas, beers, champagne etc. Now for those who don't make muffins or quick breads regularly here's a pro tip. Mix the batter just to incorporate over mixing is the enemy.
I was lazy and used a mix last time, that may be why it didn't turn out as I wanted. Usually I buy my own flour and stuff.
made a Bready Topper once when my buddy was lucky enough to be flush with Heady. Not too shabby! But usually, I agree with the above and go with something more malty or even a sweeter stout.
As a frequent bread baker, I would suggest a blond ale or pilsner if you want a lighter loaf (perhaps with cheese mixed in), and a bock or stout for a dark rich loaf (I'd also suggest molasses instead of honey/sugar for that kind of loaf). I'd also second the people who have said no IPAs or anything super hoppy. EDIT: I should clarify that my suggestions are for yeast breads. I'm not an expert in quick breads, but I'd assume you're going with a sweeter beer for that.
That's why beer bread is great its basically just self rising flour (which I like better than adding leavening to flour myself because its evenly distributed in the flour so you can skip sifting the baking soda/powder and flour together) sugar and beer those "mixes" you buy just have extra unnecessary ingredients. No shame in buying mixes though. I'm not an expert at baking but I can make brownies and cakes from scratch and even so I still cheat and buy mixes most of the time. I used to buy beer bread mixes too until I decided to look at a recipe once and did a huge facepalm lol. if you go the mix route again just try to find one with the fewest ingredients the flavor of the beer should come through more. Also the amount of sugar you use can affect the final product so id reduce for sweet beers and add for bitter/sour beers.
