I just put an oatmeal stout on tap and seem to be working beer into all my cooking these days (hefeweizen crepes seem to be a weekly occurrence), so I thought it might be nice to put together a stout based beer bread. Beer bread is relatively simple in that you can really make any bread recipe into a beer bread recipe by substituting the water 1:1 for whatever beer you like, usually something more malty and not so hoppy. I have heard that some people do like IPA bread – but I have yet to try to make that. Oatmeal stout, on the other hand, sounds like the perfect match for a bread.

Either way, this is what I have spent the past couple of days making and optimizing. This is a poolish based bread, so planning ahead is a must! Prep the poolish in the AM for bread in the evening. Scroll past the pictures for the recipe!

Poolish at 10am (that is a mug of coffee, not beer):

And at 5pm:

Finished dough, proofing in the baking vessel:

And, one of two finished loaves (the other is in the intro picture to this post):

Beer Bread Boules

Note: I like a chewier bread, so I used ~2/3 high protein flour (King Arthur Sir Lancelot) and ~1/3 medium protein flour (King Arthur All Purpose). King Arthur All Purpose would also make a great loaf by itself, but using that (or another flour) will reduce the required liquid a bit.

Poolish

320g King Arthur Sir Lancelot Flour

415g oatmeal stout – this probably brought a bit of beer yeast with it, which may add some nice character! You could easily substitute any malty beer here.

1/8 tsp instant dry yeast

Bread

all of poolish

320g King Arthur Sir Lancelot Flour

370g King Arthur AP Flour

320g oatmeal stout

18g salt

5g instant dry yeast

Prepare the poolish in the morning by mixing the flour and beer. Cover and sit in a warmish spot for several hours – I let it sit for about 7. Mix the poolish and all other ingredients, and stir for 5 minutes to mix. Knead on a stand mixer (setting 2) for 5 minutes. Cover and bulk ferment for 2 hours, folding at the 1h mark. Separate the dough into two (make sure your hands are well floured – this is a wet dough!) and shape into boules. Place into whatever you are baking them in (I’ve been using a dutch oven with great results) and proof 20-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 500F. Dust with flour, score the loaf with 1/4 inch deep slashes using whatever pattern you think is neatest. Place bread in oven, bake 40-50 minutes. Both loaves came out great for me when I baked them for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

The resulting bread is super nutty, somewhat chocolatey, and very satisfying! Cheers!