Do you have a recipe for beer bread that includes yeast? Care to share it?

Isn’t there already yeast in the beer? I thought that was the point.

No, there isn’t. Yeast is used to make beer, but unless it is unfiltered or bottle conditioned, the yeast is almost always dead by the time that it reaches the store. The increasing alcohol content of beer kills it.

At this point I’ve found 3 recipes for beer bread with yeast on my own, all of which look okay, but have problems. The yeast is simply added with the other dry ingredients and not allowed to proof, which seems problematic to me. Bread yeast typically dies at 2% -3% alcohol content I’m told, and of course any alcoholic beer will be higher than that! The one I’m planning to use is 4.9% alcohol by volume, an average beer, but still too high for the yeast to live.

That’s why beer bread recipes always include leavening agents, like baking soda or baking powder.

“the yeast is almost always dead by the time that it reaches the store.”

*not just dead, but filtered out (as in, it’s not in the bottle anymore, it’s in the trash at the brewery).

I make an “almost no knead bread” with beer in it. It is 7 oz. Room temp Water, 3 oz beer , 15 oz flour, ¼ tsp yeast, ½ tsp salt, and 1 tbsp white vinegar. Wisk dry all together. Mix wets together. Add wet to dry and mix until barely together. Cover in glass bowl and set on counter for 8–18 hours. Turn out onto floured counter and knead for 15 seconds. Place parchment paper square into 10” skillet, spray with Pam, place dough onto paper, spray top with Pam, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for two hours. After 1½ hours, place a 6qt Dutch oven With the lid on it onto lowest shelf in oven and preheat to 500 degrees. At two hours, slit top of dough ¼” deep across top and sprinkle with a little flour. Lift by parchment paper and place in Dutch oven. Put lid back on, turn oven to 425, and bake for 30 min. Remove lid and bake for another 25–30 min. Remove and place on cooling rack for 30–60 min. Enjoy.

If you use non-pasteurized or home brewed beer, you don’t need extra leavening. With ordinary commercial beer you need it.

Here’s one that uses just beer for the liquid. I omit the baking powder if using a beer with active yeast. This makes one 5×9 inch loaf. This can be multiplied for as many loaves as you like:

Materials:
1½ cups all purpose flour
1½ cups whole wheat flour
4½ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp salt
⅓ cup (packed) brown sugar
12 oz beer (ordinary beer. Omit the baking powder if using unpasteurized beer)

Method:
– preheat oven to 350F
– lightly grease 5×9 inch bread pan
– In a large mixing bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, add baking powder and brown sugar.
– pour in beer, mix until batter is fairly stiff.
– place the dough into the bread pan.
– bake at 350F for 50–60 minutes, an inserted toothpick should come out clean. The top will have a rough texture.

I forgot that after kneading you pinch the sides together, flip it over and spin on the counter to make the dough a tight ball. Also, the temp should be 206–210 degrees when done. This make artisnal style bread. Nice chewy crust, soft interior. Perfect for pasta, gumbo, or just by itself.