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Page 3 - Baking with Beer

Beyond malt - baking with beer

Beer on its own can elevate the texture of cakes, muffins and other baked goods. Scones are delightful alternatives to biscuits, at both brunch and dinner. In her recent book, THE BEER COOK BOOK (10 pounds, Faber&Faber, sold through the Campaign for Real Ale, camra@camra.org.uk) Susan Nowak includes a whole chapter on baked breads and desserts made with beer. In her scone recipe, she uses Red Leicester cheese, full of robust, rounded flavors.

Derek Wilson, sous chef of the Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH, makes jalapeno biscuits with their Dortmunder, as well as adding stout to chocolate cheesecakes.

"I think chocolate is the best flavor for desserts made with beer," says Wilson. "Otherwise, the bitter hop notes compete with more delicate flavors such as vanilla or fruits."

What of baking with spent grain? Homebrewer and author Randy Mosher cautions against using spent grains, "I think the flavor truly is spent. It's really best for cattle feed." Still, Mosher has made "the most beautiful dinner rolls" with finely cracked crystal malt. "Yeast loves it and the bread winds up with a much richer flavor," says Mosher.

By contrast, Hales Pub and Brewery in Seattle makes a most luscious pizza crust with spent grain in the dough. The style of pizza - with a thick, spongy, chewy crust - is determined by the ratio of spent grain to bread flour.

Spicy cakes, such as gingerbread and apple-cinnamon cake, blend with mild ales, while caramel desserts can also stand up to the bitter edge that beer contributes. You'll get terrific results when you blend sugar, flour, eggs, butter - and beer!

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