Micro-Brew Honey Wheat Bread

Ingredients:

3/4 cup light/amber micro-brew at room temperature

1/4 cup orange or apple juice, at room temperature

3 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup canola oil

2 teaspoons dry active yeast

2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 cup unbleached bread flour

1/2 cup milled golden flax (if you don’t want to use this, add extra flour instead)

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the beer, orange juice, honey, and canola oil.  Add the yeast, and whisk until it is completely dissolved in the liquids.

Add the flours, flax, and salt. 

Stir with a wooden spoon until a dough forms and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.  Use your hands to knead the dough until smooth (I did this in the bowl to contain the mess and avoid too much cleanup, but you can turn the dough out onto a floured surface, if you prefer).

Shape the dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly greased bowl.  Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 1/2 – 2 hours).  Punch down the dough, and shape it into one loaf or eight rolls. If you make a loaf, place it in a lightly greased bread pan. If you are making rolls, place them on a lightly greased baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat.  Cover and let rise for an additional hour.

Towards the end of the second rising, preheat the oven to 350°F. Whisk the egg with a few drops of water, and use a pastry brush to brush the rolls or the loaf with the egg wash.  Bake uncovered – 30-35 minutes for a loaf and 15-20 minutes for rolls.  The bread is done when the internal temperature is 190°F.

Allow the bread to cool completely (removing from the pan when cool enough to handle and cooling on a rack) prior to slicing. Enjoy!

<3 H

(Adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook; Photos courtesy of My Kitchen Addiction)