Brown Ale Bread for the Grand National

Being a big fan of real ale I find the idea of using it in my cooking somewhat romantic and last weekend I began trying out a few recipes using beer as an ingredient. Friday night was Porter Braised Seasoned Ribs (recipe to be uploaded) and on Saturday I made Brown Ale Bread and Porter Cajun Pulled Pork, I'm afraid not together though. I will write up the pulled pork soon - unfortunately its not as photogenic as I'd like and it definitely tastes better than it looks in photos. I will upload my efforts nonetheless. I actually used the porter infused meat juices from Friday night's ribs to cook the pulled pork which only enhanced the flavour even more and it turned out to be one of the best things I've ever cooked! Seriously you need to try this and if I ever do open my own cafe this is definitely going on the menu. Anyway back to the bread...

We had the brown ale bread with a couple of nice cheeses, chutneys and a glass of nice cold beer whilst watching the Grand National. It is one of the rare occasions when I have have a little flutter and my horse came a respectable 3rd (Tea For Three). This is the first time I've made this particular bread - I'm trying to notch up my bread conquests this year - and I did find the bread was a little difficult to slice as it was quite a crusty loaf (hence why we didn't have it with the pulled pork and opted for some nice floury baps instead). I'd say it is more of a tearing bread - great for dunking in soup and stews - but was also delightful with butter, cheese and chutney!

 Ingredients
(makes 1 hearty loaf)
500g wholemeal flour
500g plain flour
2 packets 7g dried yeast
625ml brown ale (I used Newcastle Brown but you can use any you like)
pinch of salt
1 tbsp treacle
2 tbsp olive oil

First you need to warm the beer a bit so its lukewarm then divide it by 2 and add the yeast to one and the treacle to the other. Stir in then leave to stand for 5 minutes.

Combine the flours and salt then slowly add the 2 quantities of ale, mixing as you do so(mine seemed quite dry so I added a bit more ale so it stuck together better). Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it comes together and is fairly smooth. Then form into a ball.

Put in a bowl and cover with clingfilm and a tea towel then leave in a warm spot for an hour.

After 45 minutes preheat the oven to 225°C, heating the tray you are going to bake it on.

Once your hour rising time is up knead the dough lightly and form into an oval shape. Flour the baking tray then place on the dough. Slash the top with a sharp knife and dust with flour then bake for about 30 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. If you throw a handful of ice cubes into the bottom of the oven it helps it form a nice crust (top tip!)

Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before enjoying with a selection of cheeses, chutneys and a nice glass of ale (or whatever you fancy really). Enjoy!