Beer Bread with Dried Cherries and Walnuts
How can I convince you to bake this bread? Is it by sharing with you just how deceivingly easy it is to make? Perhaps I can persuade you by telling you it is so good you may never buy a loaf of store-bought bread again? Maybe the photos are enough to entice you. Whatever the reason, I promise you, you won’t regret it.
Full credit for this bread goes to the mom of Alexandra Stafford of Alexandra’s Kitchen and her willingness to share her closely guarded recipe for peasant bread, a bread that she baked nearly daily throughout Alexandra’s childhood. Just imagine – she baked a version of this bread nearly everyday! I think that speaks to the ease by which this loaf comes together. There’s no kneading involved! Even those who might feel overwhelmed with the concept of baking bread can produce beautiful, golden, and delicious loaves. Alexandra took her mom’s recipe and wrote an entire book of recipes offering variations on the original recipe. I have made many of the recipes from her book and I honestly can’t choose one over another as my favorite. Since I have always been a fan of dried fruit and nuts in my bread, this recipe won out as the recipe I wanted to share with all of you.
The really fun thing about this bread is that it bakes in pyrex bowls. If you don’t have two 1-quart pyrex bowls you can find them here, or try finding used ones at flea markets, thrift shops, Etsy, Ebay, and other similar sources. It will be well worth the effort because once you make this beer, dried cherry and walnut version you will want to buy the book and make more of Alexandra’s recipes. Fast, easy, and delicious homemade bread is what it’s all about!
Beer Bread with Dried Cherries and Walnuts
1 1/2 cups (170g) walnut pieces
4 cups (512g) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 cup (92g) dried cherries (cut in half if large)
1 1/2 cups amber ale, room temperature
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup neutral oil
Softened butter, for greasing
1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spread the walnut pieces on a sheet pan in a single layer. Toast in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove and transfer the walnuts to a clean tea towel and rub to remove the walnut skins. Taking care to leave as many skins behind as possible, transfer the nuts to a colander and shake to remove any remaining skins. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Add the toasted walnut pieces, and dried cherries. In a small bowl, combine the beer and boiling water, followed by the oil, and add it to the flour, Using a rubber spatula, mix until the liquid is absorbed and the ingredients form a sticky dough ball. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the dough has doubled in bulk.
3. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 425˚F. Grease two 1-quart oven-safe bowls with the softened butter – be generous. Using two forks, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides of the bowl and pulling it toward the center. Rotate the bowl quarter turns as you deflate, turning the mass into a rough ball.
4. Using your two forks and working from the center out, separate the dough into two equal pieces. Use the forks to lift each half of dough into a prepared bowl. If the dough is too wet to transfer with forks, lightly grease your hands with butter or oil, then transfer each half to a bowl. Do not cover the bowls. Let the dough rise on the countertop near the oven (or another warm, draft-free spot) for 10 to 20 minutes, until the top of the dough just crowns the rims of the bowls.
5. Transfer the bowls to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375˚F and bake for 17-20 minutes more, until golden all around. Remove the bowls from the oven and turn the loaves out onto cooling racks. If the loaves look pale, return them to their bowls and bake for 5 minutes longer. Let the loaves cool for 15 minutes before cutting.
Makes 2 loaves
Adapted from Bread Toast Crumbs by Alexandra Stafford
I haven’t made a no-knead bread for quite some time. This gorgeous loaf has me wondering if I have dried cherries in the pantry? If not, I’ll need some soon. This looks to be a must-make recipe!