Beer Leopard Loaf
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The ingredients that make up this bread give it its unique character, old-fashioned flavor, irregular texture, and crispy, leopard-spotted crust. Its mineral, vitamin, and fiber content is slightly higher than that of regular bread, giving it significant nutritional value. With good keeping qualities and a distinctive heart shape, it is a treat for making croutons. Beer bread is a specialty of artisan bakers in the Bas-Rhin region. This is pain à la bière, a rustic loaf that carries within its crumb the very essence of Alsatian baking tradition. The substitution of water with locally brewed beer—often a light lager or amber ale—introduces a subtle maltiness and a gentle fermentation that develops its singular character. It is a bread that does not merely accompany a meal but anchors it, equally at home alongside a hearty choucroute or simply spread with farmhouse butter.
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The ingredients that make up this bread give it its unique character, old-fashioned flavor, irregular texture, and crispy, leopard-spotted crust...
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Fermented Dough
- Make a day ahead. Mix all ingredients together for 3 minutes on low speed and 6 minutes on medium-high speed until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl often — this will ease and shorten the mixing process. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and form it into a tight round on a clean, un-floured countertop. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and refrigerate for up to 72 hours.
Mashed Potatoes
- Instant mashed potatoes made with potato flakes work just fine. Scrub the potatoes under running water and rinse. Place the clean potatoes in a saucepan and cover them with water. Add a few pinches of salt, bring to a boil, and cook over medium heat until fork-tender. Depending on their size, they should take 35 to 45 minutes. Drain, peel, then pass through a food mill.
Kneading Process
- Remove the fermented dough 2 hours before starting to mix. Add the still-warm mashed potatoes to the mixing bowl along with the beer, and sprinkle in the fresh yeast. Mix for 30 seconds. Add the flours and salt, then mix on low speed for 3 minutes.
- Cut the fermented into 3 portions add them to the mixer dough. Continue mixing on low speed for 20 more minutes. Alternatively, the dough can be mixed for 5 minutes on low speed and 8 minutes on medium (or second) speed.
- Pause the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl and the dough hook.
Bulk Fermentation
- Cover the dough and let it ferment for one hour at 77ºF / 25ºC or 2 hours at 67ºF / 19-20ºC.
Leopard Mixture Glaze
- Whisk the fresh yeast in the beer, and add flour and stir until homogenized. Set it aside.
Dividing the Dough
- Flour the dough and work surface. Turn the bowl over (now, the skin is down), and flour the surface of the dough. With the help of the large triangle dough scraper, cut the dough into eight 500g or ten 400g portions keeping skin side down for now.
Mise-en-Forme & Bench Resting
- Gently deflate each piece by giving it a few quick pats all over. Using as little extra flour as possible, fold the edges toward the center of the dough. Flip it over so the smooth side (the skin) is now facing up. Shape the dough into tight round. Arrange the rounds in neat rows on a floured work surface as you proceed with the remaining dough. Cover and let them relax for 20 minutes.
Shaping into Triangle
- Uncover the loaves. Lightly flour them and the cleaned countertop. Grab the first loaf and flip it over (skin facing up / seam side up). Dust flour over.
- Starting from the middle with your rolling pin, with a controlled pressure begin to flatten it but not entirely—keep about a third of the dough intact creating a little bump. Brush of excessive flour if so.
- Now, fold the lip over that created bump...
- ... and shape it into a triangle with the help of your palms going under and seal. Repeat and arrange 2 loaves per tray lined with a lightly floured baker's couche. Do likewise with the remaining loaves.
Proofing
- Before proofing, spread the leopard mixture glaze on top of each bread.
- Let them proof for 2 hours at 20ºC or about an hour at 25ºC, uncovered.
- Preheat your conventional oven to 480ºF/250ºC with the pizza stone positioned on the bottom third of the oven for 45 minutes before baking your first loaf. The temperature of the pizza stone is the best indicator. It should be no less than 250ºC; the higher, the better.
Baking
- Plan to bake 2 loaves (dust flour over) every 50 minutes (allowing 25 minutes for baking and about 25 minutes for the pizza stone to reheat to 250-260ºC). To prevent the remaining breads from over-proofing while waiting to be baked, the 6 other loaves should be kept in the refrigerator.
- Spray water inside the oven, then bake the beer leopard loaves for 25 minutes at 430°F (220°C). Turn the oven off and carefully open the oven door to let the steam escape, then leave the breads in for 5 more minutes. Let them cool onto a cooling rack.
Storage
- Store the beer breads at room temperature for up to 24 hours, wrapped in a fragrance-free kitchen towel or large paper bags.For later events: To enjoy beer breads as crispy as they were on the first day, store them in sealed freezer bags just a few hours after baking—they can be kept this way for up to two months. An hour before serving, place them in a preheated (220ºC) oven, turn it off, and leave them inside for 5 minutes. Let the breads rest at room temperature for 20 minutes before eating.
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