I’m back to making bread consistently. Once or twice a week. But I’m also quite lazy so making a poolish is by far too much trouble. All I’m doing now is substituting homebrew for the liquid component.
Voila! Real bread without the hassle.
Been using JC’s french bread recipe but doing it loaf-style:
This evening it’ll be french butter, cheddar and chorizo. In the am peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Tomorrow evening grilled cheese. The next day bruschetta for dunking in soup. Croutons the next etc…
I’ve been using a small convection toaster oven to bake my breads in. Placed a thick unglazed tile on the lowest rack and one on the highest rack. That way I don’t have to fire up the main oven and so bake instead in the garage or outside even. Wanting fresh bread or a baked potato in the middle of summer promotes rethinking of techniques…
The beer is instant flavor for the bread. With sufficient yeast a starter isn’t necessary. So why go that route unless it is to develop flavor, which is what a poolish basically does besides develop gluten and grow yeast. Pretty much making beer at that point anyway.
Berliner Weisse. The recipe is in zymurgy this month. I’ve been trying to get those slashes looking better and these are two of the prettiest loaves yet. There was a third loaf that looks like it was shaped by the special kid. We don’t talk about it.
Tried the Cooks Illustrated “Easy Sandwich Bread” that takes less than 2 hours. The author states optimistically 90 minutes start to finish. My experience was 105 minutes from hydrating the flour and ending with a baked loaf cooling on a rack.
Substituted beer for the water and skipped the honey and butter.
Turned out pretty good. Very much like the premium store-bought sandwich bread that comes in the bag. But better.
Ah ha! This thread just gave me an idea on what to do with those two cans of megaswill left in the fridge from a recent family visit. Beer bread it is. Just poured out enough for the first loaf and letting it warm up/degas before I make bread with it.