HONEY HEFEWEIZEN BEER BREAD

It is no secret that I enjoy a few bottles of beer. I am pretty picky about the flavor, though. I pretty much only like velvety wheat beers or rich, sweet stouts. There are a few lagers that are good, but that is pretty much it. Overall I am much more of a liquor drinker.

But there’s one thing that I tried in England during study abroad that has stuck with me: beer bread. The gastropub I went to made it with Guinness, and it was delicious and rich and thick and perfect right from the oven. Out here in San Francisco, however, it never seems to be Stout weather, so I’ve been drinking more wheat beers (there are a few really great local breweries that make fantastic hefeweizen and witbier, so they’re cheaper both when I’m out at a bar with friends and when I’m in the supermarket). One of the standouts is Pyramid Brewing Company’s hefeweizen. Perfect with a lemon slice!

Here I’m trying to recreate that great taste with a tiny twist.

RECIPE: Honey Hefeweizen Bread
Time: <1 hour
Amount: 1 loaf

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 1/2 cups Self Rising Flour
• 3 tbsp Honey
• 12oz bottle of a good cold Hefeweizen
• 1/4 cup Melted Butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Measure 3 cups Self Rising Flour into a bowl. Whisk lightly to prevent clumping.
3. Pour bottle of cold Hefeweizen into bowl. Mix together. I know it’s sticky and feels weird, but use your hands to do this; it’ll mix better.
4. Pour 3 tbsp Honey on the dough. Knead lightly so Honey is incorporated. 
5. Add last 1/2 cup of Flour to dough to keep it from being too runny.
6. To a greased pan (I used a 9x9” pyrex because that is the only size I have), add the dough. This dough, because it uses the yeast in the beer rather than dry yeast, does not require any time to rest.
7. Pour Melted Butter over the dough and lift up the dough to make sure it gets coated. This will give your bread that great crust.
8. Put the bread in the oven for 30 minutes or when bread has a golden brown, biscuit-like crust. The inside should be similar to a fluffy cornbread.
9. Let rest 10-15 minutes on a wire rack before serving.

Now you’ll notice that you have 5 other bottles of beer in your fridge. Crack open one and enjoy with your delightful loaf of Honey Hefeweizen Bread. This works great with pork or chicken, but I’d switch to stout for a steak.