Last Updated September 27, 2024

Bread is delicious. #FACT.

Then when you make pretzel bread and add beer to it, it becomes extra delicious. #FACTZ. And that’s exactly what this bread is, boiled beer bread.

Pretzel bread is made simply by boiling bread dough in baking soda water. This particular recipe adds a bit of beer to the boiling water, because if you’re going to make beer bread, you might as well go all out!

Beer in baking

Beer can be added to all kinds of desserts from cookies and brownies to cakes and breads, even caramels and candies! It creates tender baked goods, can help raise, and of course, adds wonderful flavor notes. One of the beauties of baking with beer (and wine!) is choosing from all the different varieties, as each will lend its own unique flavor.

If you’re new to baking with beer, you’ll probably want to start with the recipe’s suggested beer, an Indian Pale Ale if you decide to make this bread. Once you start to get an idea of how beer acts and tastes in recipes, you can begin to branch out and try your favorite beers to find matches with different baked goods. For example, stouts (think Guinness) are lovely in chocolate cake. A staple of a bakery I worked in was a Chocolate Guinness Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Actually, the photos of the bread you see in this post are made with an American Pale Ale from Short’s Brewery, not an Indian Pale Ale. But they’re similar, I don’t know I’d notice the difference between breads made with an IPA or an APA. Just stay away from light beers, those are watery and not good for baking.

If you don’t like beer, chances are you will still like desserts and breads made with beer. Most of the alcohol gets baked out as well, so if it’s more the alcohol you avoid that can be reassuring. However, you’ll probably want to make your own informed choice on that as there will still be trace amounts of alcohol even after baking/cooking. :)

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Recipe adapted from Little Market Kitchen

IPA Pretzel Bread

Makes two loaves

Ingredients:

    •    1/2 cup / 119g warm water (about 105-110 Fahrenheit)
    •    2 1/4 tsp / 7g active dry yeast
    •    1 1/2 cups (12 oz) / 356g IPA or beer of choice, room temperature, divided into 1 cup and 1/2 cup
    •    4 cups / 480g bread flour or all-purpose flour
    •    1 Tbsp / 13g sugar
    •    1 tsp / 5g salt
    •    3 Tbsp / 42g oil
    •    10 cups / 2,370g water
    •    1/2 cup / 110g baking soda
    •    1 egg yolk beaten with 1 Tbsp / 15g water
    •    coarse or flaked salt, for sprinkling

Directions:

Oven preheated to 425°F / 218°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.

1. Pour warm water into the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl.  Sprinkle yeast over the water and let sit for about 10 minutes, or until bubbly and frothy.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. 

3. Once the yeast is active, add the flour mixture, then the oil, then 1 cup / 237g of the beer.  Mix in a stand mixer with dough hook or knead by hand until a soft, but not sticky, dough forms, about 10 minutes.  If it's too soft, add more flour, or if it's too dry/stiff, you can steal a bit of beer from the reserved 1/2 cup / 119g. 

4. Give the dough a few kneads by hand if a stand mixer was used and place in a large lightly oiled bowl. Flip dough once so both sides are oily. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.  

5. In a large pot, combine water, remaining 1/2 cup / 119g beer, and baking soda.  Bring to a boil. 

6. Once bread has doubled in size, punch down and divide in half.  Shape each half into a round loaf. 

7. Working with one loaf at a time, lower into the boiling water using a large sieve or spatula, boil for 30 seconds and flip in the water once.  Remove and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with second loaf. 

8. Brush the loaves with the egg yolk and water mixture, sprinkle with salt. 

9. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes then place a piece of tinfoil on top to keep the bread from darkening too much.  Bake for an additional 3-8 minutes until a baking thermometer inserted near center reads at least 190°F / 88°C. 

10. Allow to cool, slice, and enjoy!

Jenny’s Notes:

• If the dough is too soft when trying to create a round and it won’t hold its shape, add flour a bit at a time until it will.  Dough that relaxes a little bit out of shape is ok, just keep in mind that adding too much flour will create a dry bread. It’s about finding the balance between creating a soft dough yet strong enough to hold it’s shape. Properly kneaded dough is also important in a free form loaf holding its shape.

• This bread makes excellent toast. I think I say that about every bread recipe. Toast is so good.