Sunday, June 17, 2012

Beer and Smoked Gouda Bread


As you may know, I've always loved making bread since I find it so relaxing and exhilarating. So far, all the breads that I have made are done so by hand (KitchenAid cheat here and there lol) and baked through an actual oven. However, I do own a bread machine and have put off using it for around 5 years now...I don't know why but I think it has something to do with the indention of the built-in kneading blade...
Anywhos, this time around, I decided to bake a few loaves in the machine and see how it goes. My tasty combo; beer and smoked Gouda cheese. One thing you should know is that I am absolutely NOT a beer fan. I dislike the taste and idea of it being a party must-have. Unfortunately, with all the men in my family, beer shows up here and there but seldom do I have much left over...
At a recent party, around 14 cans of cheap beer were left over and finding it a waste of an ingredient to pour down the drain, I decided to use it as the liquid ingredient in bread.
After placing all the ingredients conveniently into the bread pan and waiting 3 hours, a beautiful, golden and aromatic loaf emerged. The crust was so glorious and the crumb was deliciously fluffy, changing my perspective on bred machines.
I will definitely be using the machine again for future breads.

1 can of light beer
1 2/3 cups shredded smoked Gouda cheese
2 tsp salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast

In order, starting at bottom of bread pan, add beer, cheese, salt, flour, and sugar. Make an indentation in the flour and add yeast. Make sure the yeast does not touch the liquid. Close the bread machine and press the Basic setting or Plain White Setting. Wait for the cycle to complete and there you have it-a loaf of freshly made bread.

 





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