Beer and Onion Rye Bread

It must have been at least ten years ago that I got excited enough about trying new bread recipes that I set up a nice journal to record my adventures. It turned out to be a short-lived project. I wanted to move on to new thing after new thing and when too many recipes needed tweaking or improved skills, my enthusiasm kind of fizzled.

I didn’t stop making bread, though. I kept making loaves and doughs that worked well (like this sandwich bread and this baguette and this pizza crust), improving my skills and improving recipes. Now, when I try a new bread recipe, I shift it a little bit to match the way I know bread works for me. In other words, I take the new flavors and make them into bread my way.

I did this recently with a Beer and Onion Rye Bread. I used my usual method of making a sort of mini starter (at least that’s how I think of it) to let the yeast ferment a bit and let some good flavor develop. I find that this step somehow makes bread rising more predictable. I use a Kitchen Aid stand mixer to do my kneading, and I only add as much flour as I need to make a stretchy, still fairly tacky dough.

But theory is nothing without flavor, and this bread has lots of good stuff in that department. I used a brown ale in the bread, which gave it a pleasant, dark bitterness, which was complemented and nicely balanced by the sourness of a bit of vinegar and sour cream. The classic additions of onion and caraway with rye flour add even more great flavor. That rye flour (I used some good, stone-ground flour) makes the bread soft, but it’s still hearty and rich. Really delicious stuff!

This loaf is a bit larger than my usual sandwich loaves. I shaped it into an oval loaf, but it’s still big enough around to make slices for sandwiches. I recommend roast beef, ham, or a really awesome grilled cheese. It’s just fine all on its own, too.

Beer and Onion Rye Bread

Adapted from Cooking Light magazine

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ cup finely chopped onion

¾ cup brown beer or ale

1 teaspoon sugar

4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast (2 envelopes)

½ cup sour cream

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup stone ground rye flour

2 ¾ cup bread flour, divided

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and just beginning to brown, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

2. Warm the beer to 100 F to 110 F. Pour the warm beer into the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir in the sugar and yeast. Let stand about 5 minutes or until the yeast is bubbly.

3. Stir in the sour cream, white vinegar, caraway seeds, and egg. Add the rye flour and 1 cup bread flour. Stir together using the paddle attachment until a thin, batter-like dough forms. Cover and let stand about 30 minutes.

4. After 30 minutes, the batter should have risen lightly and have a puffy, slightly foamy appearance. Add the onions, salt and about half the remaining bread flour.

5. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead the dough on medium-low speed for about 10 minutes, kneading in as much of the remaining flour as the dough will take while still remaining soft and slightly sticky.

6. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and shape into a smooth ball. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough ball inside. Spay the dough ball with cooking spray and place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top. Cover the bowl with a towel and let stand about 1 – 1 ½ hours or until doubled in size.

7. Gently deflate the dough and shape it into an oval 8-10 inches long. Place the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Cover with a towel and let stand about 30 minutes or until roughly doubled in size.

8. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 F. When the dough is ready, take a very sharp knife and cut several slashes in the top of the loaf. Bake at 400 F for 30 minutes or until golden brown and the bread tests done. (The bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom or when an instant read thermometer reads about 200 F.)

Makes 1 large loaf.

Other recipes like this one: Sage and Onion Bread with Cornmeal, Stout Bread with Chocolate and Cherries

One year ago: Glazed Orange Pound Cake

A Stout Bread

At the risk of seeming bitter in the face of an impending romantic holiday, I decided to post another recipe for a treat that’s a lot less sweet. Now, I’m all for the employment of heart-shaped boxes of chocolates and pink-frosted cupcakes in the celebration of Valentine’s Day. I’ve just been married long enough (10 ½ years) to know what my Sweetheart likes, and that is foods and beverages with at least a hint of more bitter flavors.


One of Harry’s favorites is this bread fortified with Guinness stout and studded with bittersweet chocolate and dried cherries. It starts with a simple starter of the beer, some bread flour and yeast and ends with soft bites of melted chocolate and hints of sweet and tart from the cherries. Actually, it ends with an empty plate and rather quickly, which is why I form the dough into two small loaves and freeze one for later. Delayed gratification can be a very romantic thing.

I’ve made this bread by kneading it in a heavy-duty mixer with a dough hook, but recently, I’ve been kneading bread by hand. This bread comes out best if I allow the dough to remain a little sticky rather than too stiff. The dough is slow to rise compared to other doughs and if I add too much flour, I find the loaves to be too dense.

I’m afraid I may have posted it too late to make it for Valentine’s Day. The starter requires about 8 hours to properly mature, so you have to think about making it ahead of time. If your tooth is not as sweet as your romantic disposition, you might like to make this bread instead of a sugary treat, for some other romantic occasion. If, on the other hand, you’re more bitter than romantic, this might fit the bill as well. Our plans for the big Valentine weekend: curl up with a homemade pizza and watch the movie Zombieland. You keep Valentine’s Day in your way, I’ll keep it in mine.

Stout Bread with Chocolate and Dried Cherries
adapted from Cooking Light magazine

3 ½ - 4 cups bread flour, divided
1 (12-ounce) bottle Guinness Stout
2 teaspoons dry yeast (or about 1 package)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup dried tart cherries
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken or chopped into bite-size pieces

1. Combine 2 cups flour, stout, and yeast in a large container. Stir well to combine completely. Cover loosely (I just set the lid of the container on top without sealing it) and refrigerate at least 8 hours.

2. Remove the starter from the refrigerator and let stand until it warms to room temperature, at least 1 hour, perhaps longer.

3. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, and salt and stir to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface (or into the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer.) Knead the dough by hand (or with the mixer’s dough hook) until it is smooth. While kneading, add ½ to 1 cup flour a little at a time. The dough should still be slightly tacky, but should not continue to cover your fingers or stick to the kneading surface (or the mixer bowl).

4. Stretch the dough out into a thin circle or rectangle. Place the chocolate and dried cherries on the dough and roll it up. Work the dough to evenly distribute the chocolate and cherries.

5. Shape the dough into a smooth ball. Place the dough in a large bowl that has been oiled or coated with cooking spray. Oil or spray the top of the dough ball. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of the dough and cover with a clean towel. Let the dough rise until it is double in size, 1-1 ½ hours.

6. Oil a large baking sheet or coat it with cooking spray or line it with a silicone baking mat. Divide the risen dough in half. Form each half into a smooth ball and place on the baking sheet. Cover with a towel and let rise about 1-1 ½ hours or until about double in size.

7. Preheat the oven to 350 F. With a sharp knife, cut an X into the top of each loaf. Bake at 350 F for 35-40 minutes. To ensure the loaf is fully baked, you can insert a thermometer probe. The bread is done when the internal temperature is 200 F. Cool on a wire rack. You can slice and serve slightly warm, or when it cools completely.

Makes 2 loaves of 8-10 slices.