Shot and a Beer Bread

I found one lonely six-pack of Oktoberfest at a local market and gave it a home and a higher purpose.  To make it extra festive I threw in a shot of  Jaegermeister, too.  I've made bread with beer and I've made bread with liquor, but this is the first time I've used both.  It began as something of a novelty idea, but it actually works.  The aroma during baking was incredible.  That alone was almost worth it.  And it's loaded with flavor!  A little sweetness from the malty beer and sugary liquor, and a little anise/spice from the liquor, on top of the whole wheat / rye  / sourdough combo - there's a lot going on.  Not a subtle loaf.

Snapshot:  About a 70/30 mix of whole wheat/whole rye.  Sourdough.  Beer and liquor for all the liquid.

The Formula (This is for 2 loaves):

Day One

Soaker:  454g WW bread flour, 1 tsp sea salt, 2 shots of Jaegermeister and enough beer to total 340g liquid.  Mix 2-3 min., place in covered container at room temp. 12 hrs.

Starter:  140g WW starter @ 75% hydration, 300g whole rye flour, 120g WW bread flour, 325g beer.  Combine and knead 3-4 min.  Place in covered container at room temp. 12 hrs.

Day Two

115g WW bread flour, 1 ¼ tsp sea salt, all of the soaker and starter.  Combine and knead gently with wet hands 7-8 min.  Ferment at room temp about 3 hrs.  Shape.  Proof at room temp about 2 hrs.  Preheat stone to 500F. 

Top with caraway seeds if desired.  Bake @ 475F for 10 min. with steam (I covered them with a stainless steel pan).  Bake @ 415F for about another 40 min.  They had an internal temp of 190F.  Turn oven off, open the door and leave loaves in for another 15 min.

 The result:

Critique:  Beautiful, thick, crunchy crust, if you're into that sort of thing (and I am).  The crumb, however, is denser than I was hoping for.  This is going to be sturdy bread under any circumstances, but I think it could have been more open than this. 

The rise was very sluggish compared to when I make this bread with water.  I may have been asking too much of my sourdough to overcome all the booze in the dough.  I don't ever feel like working hard after a shot and a beer either!  Instant yeast in the final dough would, I think, be a big help, and I'll definitely add some next time.

Marcus