Spelt Beer Bread

I have my camera back! I picked it up on Saturday after a thorough cleaning. The shop gives you the before/after photos to show you just how filthy how clean it is now. It’s incredible. For $50, it was more than worth it. The funny thing is, I didn’t even think that they would have adjusted the settings. The smart girl that I am didn’t realize why my photos were coming out so blurry until I uploaded some this weekend and realized I wasn’t shooting in RAW anymore. They had ratcheted my ISO down to 100 [and I’m a bad photographer and don’t use a tripod very often, so hello blur!]. Whoops!

This is the feast from Monday that I told you about. Doesn’t it look awesome? We had a whole heap of things that Andrew picked up at New Seasons–Jamaican jerk chicken skewers, Thai peanut chicken skewers, baguette with two kinds of oil and two kinds of vinegar for dipping, pepperoncinis, chipotle stuffed olives, sliced apple, chopped peach, cheddar, Parmesan, and a lovely bottle of wine. We definitely ate all of it, minus the few bites we shared with Roma. We’re nice like that.

This gem of a loaf of bread was made last night. I’ve had my eye on the prize ever since Andrew almost unceremoniously tossed the final three bottles of Bridgeport IPA that he didn’t like. I don’t like IPAs, but for him to not like one says a lot. I do, however, like IPAs in bread. I’m such a sucker for bread, if you hadn’t noticed. It might be my most favorite food if I had to pick. I like it completely plain. Don’t you dare butter it. I barely even like it reheated. Do not toast my bread [not that I’ll turn it down, it’s just not my preference]. This blew away the whole wheat boule I made awhile ago. It’s dense but has a nice crumb. It has a little bit of a tangy aftertaste from the IPA–almost in that molasses kind of way. The top got crunchy, and might be my favorite part. I managed to control my willpower and eat only a slice and a half last night, plus a fat slice this morning with green smoothie [frozen spinach, frozen blackberries, half a banana, chia, soy milk] for breakfast. I almost wish I had brought some for lunch. Did I mention I managed to make it healthier, too? +1 to me for that.

Inspiration: Honest Fare

Ingredients

• 2 cups spelt flour
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 12 oz beer
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375º and prep a 9×5 loaf pan–spray it with the good stuff.
2. You can mix this by hand or with your stand mixer. I’m lazy, and I love using the mixer.
3. Put the flours, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.
4. Whisk together to combine.
5. Pour in the beer.
6. Mix together gently until just combined. It’ll get nice and sticky.
7. Pour it into your prepared pan.
8. Top with the melted butter.
9. Bake for 40 minutes. Stab it with a toothpick. It should come out clear.
10. Allow to cool for a few minutes before taking it out of the pan to cool completely.
11. Take a big slice for yourself. Savor it without anything on it. Then realize how weird I am and put whatever you want on it.