Welcome to my experiment in baking with beer yeast you guys. Especially if you are a brewer, I can wholeheartedly recommend using dry brewing yeast for bread baking. You can also learn more about the function of yeast in general
Sometimes I get crazy ideas. Sometimes these ideas don’t work out. But a few weeks ago, I actually had a good crazy idea. I thought that it would be Fun to experiment with different strains of brewers’ yeast in my bread.
Granted, bakers’ yeast has been optimized for baking, so I guess it’s a fan of the particular sugars present in wheat flour.
Best Brewers Yeast Recipes
But all yeasts eat sugars and expel carbon dioxide and alcohol. I figured that trying to bake with beer yeast might be a fun experiment.
The Beloved and I took a trip out to the local home brew store, American Brewmaster. I came home with a veritable Treasure Trove of goodies.
I bought three kinds of yeast, some Belgian candy sugar (which sat on the sidelines during this experiment–I kind of forgot about it), and some dry malt extract.
Baker's Yeast Vs. Brewer's Yeast
I was going to get the syrupy malt extract, but The Guy told me that it is Very Susceptible to bacterial infiltration and just to get the dried. I sullenly accepted his advice.
So, then, there they were. All my ingredients. Facing me. Day after day. Finally, after a couple of weeks, I broke down and decided that That Day was The Day. I decided to be kind of scientific-y about the whole thing.
I used exactly the same ingredients in the same proportions for each dough. The only difference was the type of yeast I used.
Simple Beer Bread Recipe (no Yeast)
I also labeled everything and gave all the dough the same amount of rise time both on the counter and in the fridge.
Incidentally, this is a fantastic wet-ish dough. The long, uber-slow rise helps to develop some really nice chew and flavor, even using all purpose flour.
Even if you’re not feeling Up to the whole brewers’ yeast thing, this recipe makes a great loaf that weighs about 1 1/2 pounds.
Easy Beer Bread Recipe
This recipe yields a chewy bread with a reasonably open crumb. If you are looking for a sandwich bread, try my Spent Grain Bread and use brewers’ yeast rather than bread yeast.
Here are some recommendations for brewer’s yeast and other products and ingredients you can use in baking bread to enhance flavor or switch up the flavor profile a bit. Not all your experiments will be perfect, but you’ll always learn something.
Some good yeasts to start with are SafAle Ale Yeast, the Nottingham yeast (the one that made the bread smell like oatmeal), and of course the lager yeast, that loves the cold anyway.
Plain Flour Bread Recipe (bread Without Yeast)
Consider picking up some malt powder or even some rock sugar for feeding the yeast. I also have added a link for a reliableinstant read thermometer, a high quality but reasonably priced kitchen scale, and a lamé for scoring bread.
I consider the thermometer and the scale to be essential kitchen tools, whether baking bread of not. And the lamé is certainly nice to have if you do a lot of bread baking.
NOTE: I made 4 separate loaves with 15 oz flour each to make it easier to blend the yeast into each loaf.
Successfully Got Brewers Yeast To Ferment Flour
Seriously, use a scale for the most accurate results. 15 oz, or just shy of 1 pound, is about 3 1/2 cups of flour. But really, get a scale.
And 9 ounces of water. If you don’t have a scale or a liquid measure with accurate markings, use 1 cup (carefully filled to the top) plus 2 tablespoons of water. (Again, please buy a scale.)
Whisk together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Turn on your mixer (fitted with the dough hook) to low speed and mix for three minutes.
What Is Brewer's Yeast (and Why Should You Be Eating It)?
**What follows is the rising schedule I used to bring out as much flavor as possible. If you don’t have the time, increase the yeast to 1-2 teaspoons and let it rise once until doubled.
Punch down, shape, let rise again and then bake. Let the last rise happen in a greased 1 pound loaf pan if you want a taller loaf. Since this dough is pretty loose, it tends to spread a bit.
Since this dough is so slack and sticky, make sure to oil (or spray Pam on) your hands to keep it from sticking (to you or the counter) or to help you resist the urge to add more flour.
Quick & Easy Beer Bread
I had a reader message me to say their yeast wasn’t working. Then they sent a photo of a brewers yeast supplement they were trying to use.
Please note: the supplement version of brewers yeast will not work in this recipe or any other bread recipe, if you want to use it as the leavening agent.
This type of nutritional supplement is an inactive form of yeast. Otherwise, you’d have a tummy full of alcohol and would be burping carbon dioxide for who knows how long!
Yeasted Beer Bread
If you have questions about this recipe or post, you can leave a comment here and I will be back in touch within a few hours.
Don't let its small price and small size fool you. The Escali Primo is an accurate and easy-to-use food scale that I have used for years. It's easy to store, easy to use, has a tare function, and easily switches between grams and ounces/pounds for accurate measurements.
It would be so helpful to me and to other readers that, when you make a recipe, you rate it and leave a comment. Whether it’s a recipe or an informational post, your feedback helps others decide if the post is helpful or if the recipe works as advertised.
Brewer's Yeast Baguettes
This is the basic bread recipe I used to experiment with baking with beer yeast. Feel free to use this recipe as a jumping off point for your own experimentation.
About the zip top bags–that was the easiest way for me to keep the loaves separate since I made 4 different ones. You can just use a bowl, covered, for rising if you’re only making 1 loaf. In that case, be sure to spray or oil the exposed surface so it doesn’t dry out.
Baking times are approximate and will depend on the initial temperature of your dough and how accurate your oven thermostat is. Keep an eye on the bread and be sure to take its internal temperature frequently towards the end of baking.
Beer, Bread, And Whiskey History: Learning How To Cultivate Yeast At Home
To Freeze If you do not intend to eat or share the whole loaf within a day, slice it and then freeze in a heavy duty zip top bag. Then you can remove slices as needed.
The bread will keep in the freezer for about 3 months. To thaw, take out the pieces you need and allow them to come to room temperature. You can also toast the bread from frozen or microwave it for just a few seconds to thaw it out more quickly.
What are my qualifications to teach you baking and pastry? As a former working pastry chef and special educator, I marry my passions for both teaching and for baking into explaining techniques, methods, and developing the best possible recipes. For more info, you can read more about me.
Ingredient Beer Bread (no Yeast)
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I’m Jenni, and I’m here to help you be Fearless in the Kitchen! Search for what you need, or give me a shout. I am only an email away and am happy to help you with any baking or cooking questions you have. I’m honored to be able to help. Learn more about me on my About Page.
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