Cajun Style Beer Bread Recipes

YEASTED BEER BREAD

Steps:

• The evening before you want to bake your bread, mix rye flour, salt, beer, 2 cups plus 3 Tbsp. (270 g) bread flour, and ½ cup cold water (65°F-70°F) in the bowl of a stand mixer until a wet, sticky dough forms. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest 20 minutes. (Resting here allows the flour to hydrate and promotes elasticity and gluten development in the dough.)
• Fit bowl with dough on stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Add molasses and yeast and mix on low speed to combine, 1-2 minutes. Increase speed to medium and mix 2 minutes to develop the dough. (Alternatively, you can mix by hand in a medium bowl with a sturdy rubber spatula or dough whisk.) If dough seems dry, add 1-2 Tbsps water.
• Transfer dough to a clean medium bowl and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Let sit at room temperature overnight (12 hours).
• The following day, transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Gently flatten into a rough square, then bring all 4 corners to the center and pinch together with your fingers. Turn dough over and, using a bench scraper or your hand, push edges of dough under loaf toward the center while rotating to create tension across the top to shape into a ball. Using your hands and dusting with flour as needed, gently rotate ball against surface to tighten further and seal bottom. Generously flour proofing basket with rice or bread flour and invert dough into basket so seam side is up. Cover with a kitchen towel and let sit until dough no longer springs back when poked with your finger, 2-3 hours.
• About 30 minutes before baking bread, place a rack in middle of oven and set Dutch oven with lid on it. Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Cut a round of parchment paper a few inches wider in diameter than the ball of dough. Invert proofing basket onto parchment to release dough (dust off excess flour if desired). Using a lame or a sharp paring knife, cut a crosshatch pattern about ½" deep on surface of dough. These cuts will serve as steam-release vents when the bread expands in the oven.
• Using oven mitts, place preheated (very hot!) Dutch oven on a heat-resistant surface and remove lid. Using parchment paper as handles, carefully place dough inside Dutch oven. Cover and bake 30 minutes. (Covering helps retain enough steam inside the pot to allow the surface of the bread to remain supple and expand.)
• Remove lid and continue to bake bread until crust is a dark mahogany brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 200°F, 15-20 minutes (removing the lid allows the bread's exterior to caramelize and bake into a chewy crust). Using oven mitts, carefully remove pot from oven. Gently invert bread onto a wire rack and let cool before slicing.

CAJUN STYLE BEER BREAD

Steps:

• 1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
• 2.Beat the beer and brown sugar together in a mixing bowl to make a smooth mixture. Add the baking powder, and gradually stir in the flour to make a smooth dough. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
• 3.Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.
• 4.Remove the bread from the oven, and pour melted butter over the top. Return to the oven, and continue baking until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 10 minutes more. Cool in pan 5 minutes before turning out onto a rack. Cool bread 10 minutes more before slicing.

CAJUN STYLE FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Cut bread loaf in half lengthwise. Brush melted butter evenly onto cut sides of bread halves.
• 2. Stir together onion, jalapeño pepper, and next 5 ingredients, and spread mixture evenly over buttered sides of bread halves. Place bread halves, buttered sides up, on a baking sheet, and sprinkle evenly with 1 1/2 teaspoons Creole seasoning.
• 3. Bake at 350° for 18 to 20 minutes or until brown and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes; cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices, and serve immediately.
• Note: To make ahead, wrap prepared unbaked bread halves in aluminum foil, place in a large zip-top plastic freezer bag, and freeze up to 1 month. To bake frozen, remove bread halves from freezer bag, and place foil-wrapped bread on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until thawed. Remove foil, return to baking sheet, buttered sides up, and bake 8 to 10 minutes or until brown and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes, and cut bread halves as directed.