Beer and Walnut Bread

A fuller, maltier German exprot beer in this deceivingly easy and hearty yeasted bread gives it a wonderfully deep flavour and the walnuts provide texture and substance. To give your bread an extra bit of flavour, toast the walnuts before adding to the dough. Exportbier is a pale lager brewed in Germany (around Dortmund) and has a longer shelf-life, and slightly stronger in taste than lager beer. Use Pilsner or ale if you can't find German Exportbier.

500 g Strong white bread flour, plus extra for kneading
75 g Rolled oats
5 g Active dried yeast
6 g Sea salt
350 ml German Exportbier, at room-temperature
1 tbsp Olive oil
75 g Walnuts, chopped

Place the flour, oats, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the beer and olive oil, and mix to a rough dough with one hand . Add a little more flour or beer as needed to make a soft, sticky dough. Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead for 8-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. You can do this in your stand mixer by kneading for 4 minutes at the lowest speed, then 5 minutes at the second-lowest speed.
Shape into a round and place into a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover loosely with a clean tea towel. Set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Knock back the dough for two minutes then stretch out on the worktop. Scatter over the walnut pieces, fold, roll and knead briefly to disperse them. Form into a round and place into a proof basket lightly dusted with flour or directly on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove until nearly doubled in size.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220C/430F and place a baking tray of boiling water in the bottom of the oven. Slash a cross in loaf with a serrated knife, and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the heat down to 190C/375F and bake for a further 30-35 minutes until the loaf feels hollow when you tap the base.

6 comments:

David M. Gascoigne, 2/12/24 12:55: Sounds damn good to me!
Lola Martínez 2/12/24 12:59: Cerveza y nueces? Nunca lo he probado, ya me gustaría hacerlo porque te ha quedado muy apetecible
DEZMOND 2/12/24 13:23: Looks lovely, I haven't eaten bread in two years, but I did love it in my old days. What is that black that you put on it that looks a bit like a poop? Plum jam?
Ivy's Closet 2/12/24 13:38: Such a beautiful bread. Great about the walnuts too!
My name is Erika. 2/12/24 14:29: This sounds amazing. And it looks delicious too. I really need to do some bread baking; I feel like such a lazy baker this fall.
Judee 2/12/24 14:36: Beer is a great ingredient for making bread. This bread looks wonderful.