April 18, 2016 - 7:31am
Deconstructed Saison Rye
My friend Jim, owner and brewmaster of a local craft brewery, decided to have a beer bread contest. Instead of using a bottled beer, I used 3 kinds of beer malt, hops and coriander to create this complex 60% rye that offers a balance of sweet, sour, bitter and astringent, all wrapped in the mellow spiciness of the rye. Blog entry here.
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like about this bread - the part that made it not for everyone, was the hops. The added sweetness due to the malts, a normal ingredient in rye beads, helps to cut the bitterness in the whole grains that some don't like - making an assertive tasting bread like a 60% rye more palatable to more people. The hops just kicked up the bitterness to a whole new level again plus the astringent thing of hops.
When ever I make a bread with a hops starter or with beer that has a lot of hops in it like a hoppy IPA, the bread always comes out bitter and hoppy tasting. This isn't a favorite taste for many people and why these kinds of beers aren't as popular as other ones that are more mellow, balanced and less astringent. I quit making a hops starter as a result because folks didn't like the bread even though I could tolerate it better than most - but the same bread with SD was fine It was always a hops problem..
I'm sure I would like to try yours out to see how hoppy it is. The girls around here wouldn't like it as much and why I stick to porters and stouts in bread now a days. But beer makers have to do something with their hops besides making beer! I'm guessing it is even more hoppy than a hops starter bread. That crumb sure looks good and I'm guessing when paired with an amber ale it would great with some cheese and fruits. Nice experiment Stan.
Well done and happy baking Stan
Actually, considering that it was part of a beer bread competition at a brewery, I think the hops (moderate bitterness; certainly nowhere near a West Coast IPA) was less of an issue than the density and complexity. Most of the tasters/voters were "ordinary" folks, i.e., people whose exposure to rye breads, if any, is limited to the over-carawayed mostly wheat breads that pass for rye. I think, too, that the complexity of the bread demanded a level of concentration and awareness that doesn't come naturally after two or eight beers.
In all, though, I was extremely happy with the result, and will certainly make this one again.
Appreciate your kind words, dbm