You can leave the torn beer bread out overnight to dry, or you can toast it lightly in the oven, depending upon your time and preference.
Serves: 8–10
Beer Bread
1/3 cup (2.6 fl oz/78 ml) molasses
1/8 cup sugar
2½ cup (20 fl oz/591 ml) water
¾ cup (6 fl oz/177 ml) Schwarzbier
1 oz (28 g) (4 packets) active dry yeast
5-1/8 cup high-gluten flour
4½ cup rye flour
¾ cup whole-wheat flour
1 Tbs kosher salt
Canola oil or pan spray
Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). In a tabletop mixer, combine the molasses, sugar, water, beer, and yeast. Mix well.
Sift together all the flours. Add half the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed for 15 minutes. Add the remaining flour and salt and mix just until the dough pulls from the sides of the bowl.
Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface. Shape the dough to fit an oiled 3-pound bread pan. Place the dough in the pan and cover with a dry cloth. Let the dough double in size at room temperature, about 25–30 minutes.
Place in preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 250°F (121°C) and bake an additional 40 minutes.
Remove bread from the oven and allow to cool in bread pan. Store until needed.
Panzanella
2 cup (16 fl oz/473 ml) canola oil, for frying
6 shallots, thinly sliced into rings
1 cup cornstarch
1 loaf beer bread, torn into large pieces
3 red peppers, roasted, peeled, and cut into strips (canned is okay)
1 cucumber, seeded and diced
½ cup sundried tomatoes in oil, julienned
¼ cup (2 fl oz/59 ml) olive oil
½ cup (4 fl oz/118 ml) sherry syrup (see below)
½ lb (227 g) mixed baby lettuces
Kosher salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).
In a large pan over medium heat, heat the canola oil. Toss the shallots in cornstarch to coat, remove excess cornstarch. Gently fry the shallots in the oil until they turn golden brown and crispy. Remove from the oil and drain.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the torn beer bread, roasted peppers, cucumber, and sundried tomatoes. Drizzle half the olive oil and half the sherry syrup over the bread mixture and toss well. Add the baby lettuces and a pinch of salt and toss with the remaining olive oil and sherry syrup.
Place the salad on a platter and top with cracked black pepper and the shallots.
Sherry Syrup
1 cup (8 fl oz/237 ml) sherry vinegar
1 cup sugar
In a small saucepan, combine the sherry vinegar and the sugar and cook over low heat to reduce by one third. Remove from heat and allow to cool. The syrup should be thick.
Beer suggestions: You can’t go wrong with a schwarzbier such as Kostritzer’s Schwarzbier (Thüringen, Germany).