Beer Bread – Ale vs Stout

For this week’s journey in the world of bread, I decided to bring together my fascination with bread and the upcoming holiday of St. Patrick’s Day! Though it is not the main purpose of the holiday, a lot of beer is consumed.

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I am mostly a dark beer drinker, but I had some ale in my fridge for crêpes so the idea for a comparison was born. The two competitors are a blonde ale and a breakfast stout. From what I’ve read, people have found lighter beers to give little to no taste to bread, and darker beers to have more taste complexity.

I decided to use this recipe from Food.com because it sounded like a nice simple recipe and had good reviews. With only 6 ingredients it was perfect for a quick reproduction and comparison.

I mixed the dry ingredients together, then made a well in the middle to pour in the beer. Using a bowl scraper I combined the flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and beer together to make a sticky dough. The first dough I tried mixing with a whisk, spatula, then finally with my hands. I had expected it to be a bit wetter and more like a batter, but learned the bowl scraper was the best way to go. You could also use a stand mixer with a dough hook.

The melted butter can be incorporated into the dough or poured on top after the dough is placed in a greased loaf pan (I suggest lining with parchment paper as well if you’re worried about the bread sticking to the bottom. The stout bread gave me a hard time). I poured mine on top and it formed a delicious crust around the outside of the bread. Next time I might try putting half in the dough and half on top.

Stout dough with melted butter. I know it looks a bit like ground beef, but trust me it’s delicious after it cooks!

Once the dough is in the pan and butter has been poured on top. It bakes for 1 hour at 375º F/ 190ºC. The butter might still be sizzling a bit when you take it out of the oven, so let it sit for a minute or two before transferring it to a cooling rack.

The bread made with blonde ale had surprisingly more flavor than expected, but the breakfast ale had a richer taste. Both have been fantastic on their own,paired with soups, and made into sandwiches.

I hope you enjoy this bread as much as I did! Please come back to visit for more recipes and ongoing adventures in bread!