Beer bread ... again ;)

What to do when a new untried recipe for Spelt bread is sending enticing memories of the aroma of freshly baked bread and you realise that the yeast is well past its use by date and is dead? Not just a little bit dead, but has gone grainy in the bottom of the jug where it's meant to be rising with frothy enthusiasm. The water is a putrid muddy yellow and the bubbles on top wouldn't raise a scant teaspoon of flour.

Bring on the beer ;)

The smoky pils that neither hubby nor I like, to be precise.  We still have quite a few bottles left and it's used for flavouring stews and soups. Why not try it instead of yeast! It will only require a little tweak of the recipe here and there, no problems...

So here we have Sue's No Fuss Spelt Beer Bread

Ingredients:

• instead of 7g of yeast, add about 2 teaspoons of baking powder (maybe a bit less next time)
• 1 tablespoon of caster sugar (next time I'll use Manuka honey)
• instead of 1 1/2 cups of warm water, use the same of the Smoky Pils (that's around 375ml) or whatever beer you don't want to drink right now or was a bit of a brewing embarrasement
• 1 1/2 cups wholemeal spelt flour
• 1 1/2 cups white spelt flour (I didn't have that so used bakers white)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (it was probably lake salt, but who cares)
• I omitted the suggested linseeds and rolled oats and added about 2 tablespoons of sunflower seeds - because I like them - they would be yummy toasted first
• I tablespoon olive oil - I added a good slosh of a local extra virgin one.

Now theoretically you're meant to kneed the dough and all that stuff, but I couldn't get my rings off, so after I plonked everything in the basin, I used a spoon to swish it around a bit like making muffins then flopped it into a greased bread shaped tin. Then straight into the oven at about 200C. I checked after 20 mins and turned the tin around, then "knocked" on it after another 20 mins. A good hollow sound and fantastic smell - I know from experience it's best to wait a bit before cutting freshly baked bread - patience is a virtue and all that stuff, but it was worth it to enjoy it just slightly warm with some fresh bruschetta topping and a slice of cheese. Then the next slice with butter and a local honey.

The difficulty was not scoffing the lot - must remember mindful eating next time.

PERFECT :D

An earlier recipe: Beer Bread!

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