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–+ servings

Sourdough Beer Bread Recipe

Create a delicious new sourdough flavor by adding your favorite beer to your dough! The rich aroma and flavor of this delicious sourdough beer bread will make this your new fave sourdough flavor!
5 from 4 votes
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Prep Time 4 hours
Cook Time 45 minutes
Fermentation Time 12 hours
Course Bread
Cuisine American
Servings 1 Loaf
Calories 2082 kcal

Equipment

  • Mixing Bowl
  • Digital Scales
  • Banneton
  • Dutch Oven

Ingredients
  

  • 500 g Bread Flour
  • 350 g Beer any type of beer, room temperature
  • 100 g Sourdough Starter see notes, can be reduced
  • 12 g Salt

Instructions
 

PREMIX THE DOUGH

  • Weigh out your sourdough starter and beer into a large mixing bowl and mix together briefly.
  • Now add your flour and salt and mix whole lot together to form a dry dough.
  • Cover your bowl with cling film or a damp tea towel and let it sit for around 1 hour.
    This process is called the "autolyse" and allows your flour to soak in all the water and become hydrated. You can see how the dough has changed in this photo.

FORMING UP THE DOUGH

  • Bring the dough together into a ball. Pull the edges of the dough into the centre until it's smoother and more formed.
    You'll notice that the dough is fully hydrated after soaking all the water up. It will be fairly sticky but as you bring it into a ball, it will become smoother and shinier.
  • Once the dough has formed into a smooth ball, pop the cling film back on and let it rest for 30 minutes.

STRETCH & FOLD PHASE (STRENGTHENING PHASE)

  • Over the next few hours you need to create some structure for your dough by "stretching and folding".
    Aim to do around 4-6 sets of stretches and folds.
    For each set, stretch the dough up and over itself 4 times. Leave around 15 minutes in between each set. Again you do not have to be exact with time, but you need to do at least 4 sets over 2 hours.

BULK FERMENTATION (RISE PHASE)

  • Once you've finished your stretch and folds, place the cling film or damp tea towel back over your dough and let it rest and ferment (a plastic cover is a better option for this stage).

SHAPE THE DOUGH

  • Once your dough has finished it's first ferment, it's time to shape it into either a boule or a batard.
    You'll need to flour your counter top with rice flour for this (we use rice flour because it has no gluten). Try to be quite sparing with the rice flour, you only need a very light dusting.
    Use a silicone dough scraper to gently ease the dough out of the bowl. You want it to land upside down on your counter so that the smooth top of the dough is on the countertop and the sticky underside is facing up. This will make it easier to shape.
    You want to pull the edges of the dough into the centre and then flip it over so that the sticky side is now underneath. Using the stickiness, gently pull the dough into a tight ball.
    You will need a banneton to put your dough into. If you do not have a banneton, then a bowl or basket lined with a floured tea towel is perfectly fine. Make sure your bowl isn't too big though, you want your dough to retain some shape.
    Whatever you're using needs to be liberally floured with your rice flour. If you're using a banneton - liberally sprinkle it with rice flour. If you're using a cloth or tea towel, rub the flour into it to ensure it becomes non stick.

PUT DOUGH INTO THE BANNETON

  • Once the dough is shaped into a tight ball, place it into your banneton smooth side down, so your seam is on the top - this way the top of your dough will get the pretty lines from the banneton.
    If you're using a cloth or tea towel in a bowl it's ok to put your dough with the smooth side up. Just make sure the dough is tight.
    Lift your dough around the edges to pop a little more rice flour if you feel it needs it. Just try to handle the dough as little as possible and be really gentle as you really want to preserve all the gases and air bubbles that have formed during your bulk ferment.

PROOFING

  • Now the dough is in its "shaping container" cover it loosely with a plastic bag or damp tea towel pop it into the fridge for the cold ferment.
    You can leave it for a minimum of 5 hours up to 36 hours or anywhere in between.

PREPARE TO BAKE YOUR DOUGH

  • Once you're ready to bake your sourdough, you'll need to preheat your oven to 230C/450F. While your oven is preheating, place your sourdough in the freezer.
    Place your Dutch Oven into the oven when you turn it on so it gets hot. Try to preheat for around 1 hour to ensure your oven is super hot - but you know your oven so just adjust this time if you need to.

BAKE YOUR SOURDOUGH BREAD!

  • Now it's time to bake!
    When your oven is at temperature, gently tip your sourdough out of the banneton and onto a piece of parchment paper. If it hasn't been in the freezer, just handle it very gently as it may be very soft.
    Make sure that you make the baking paper big enough to use the edges as a handle to lower to dough into your Dutch Oven.
    Gently score your bread with a lame, clean razor blade or knife. At minimum a large cross is sufficient, but you can get as artistic as you like. You can find my full guide on how to score sourdough bread here.
    Carefully take your dutch oven out of the oven. Place the sourdough into the pot using the baking paper as a handle. Put the lid on and place into the hot oven.
    If you want to you can spritz your dough with extra water before you put the lid on.
    BAKE TIME:
    30 Minutes with the lid on at 230C/450F plus
    10-15 Minutes with the lid off at 210C/410F

LET YOUR BREAD COOL

  • When you remove your dough from the oven, carefully remove it from the dutch oven as soon as possible and place on a wire rack to cool.

Notes

  • Notes on Beer: You can use any type of beer you like, from stout to ale and anything in between. I've chosen Pale Ale for the loaf photographed, but you can absolutely use anything you prefer or have on hand.
  • Notes on Flour:  This recipe is written using strong Bread Flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content than All Purpose flour. If you choose to use All Purpose flour you may have a different result because of this. You can read more about the differences between All Purpose Flour and Bread Flour here.
  • Notes on Stretch & Folds:  If you are going to do the stretch & folds on your bench top, spray your surface with water mist rather than using flour. You can leave the dough in the bowl if you want to. Wet your hands to stop the dough sticking - although it shouldn't be too sticky. It will get less sticky as you do your stretches and folds. For more information on how to do stretch and folds, go here.
  • Notes on Bulk Fermentation:  If your home is warm then your dough will ferment a lot faster and could be done in as little as a few hours. If it's colder, it will take longer. You will know your dough is ready to move to the next stage when it has *just* doubled in size. It will be fairly wobbly and full of bubbles. You should be able to see large air bubbles under the surface of the dough. You don't want to let it go any further than doubled as it will be over fermented.
    You'll find more information on these topics here:


    When is my bulk ferment finished?
    What is the difference between cold ferment and bulk ferment?
    Why does the amount of starter matter?

  • Notes on Baking:  If you're worried about the base of your bread burning, place a baking sheet on shelf underneath your Dutch Oven - it works! If you're worried about your bread not being cooked all the way through, turn the oven off and place your dough straight onto the oven rack.
    Leave the door ajar and let your bread rest there for a few hours. Make sure you don't close the door or your sourdough will sweat and you'll get a wrinkly, soggy crust.
    Remember not to cut into your loaf too soon - you'll need to let it cool for at least a few hours (4-6 is best).

Nutrition

Serving: 100gCalories: 2082kcalCarbohydrates: 396gProtein: 72gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 4980mgPotassium: 906mgFiber: 13gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 505IUCalcium: 424mgIron: 5mg
Keyword Sourdough Bread, Sourdough Recipes
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