Baking A Ginger Beer Bread Using A Sourdough Starter

"Today's loaf is a truly interesting one, and not what you would imagine it to be at first glance. It has absolutely nothing in common with ginger bread cookies, but is an actual loaf of 'everyday' bread. What I have done, is to add actual ginger beer, not ginger ale, to the dough as added raising agent, along with the sourdough starter. You can always swap out the ginger beer for actual beer in this recipe, but that feint whiff of ginger in the background, gives this loaf extra flavour in my opinion."

Mix 3 cups (750 ml) brown bread flour, 2 cups (500 ml) cake flour and 2 teaspoons (10 ml) salt in a large mixing bowl.

Mix the dry ingredients well.
Option 1: If using Instant Dry Yeast, instead of the sourdough starter, add a packet to the dry ingredients.

We use homemade ginger beer with a highly developed yeast content to help the bread to rise, along with the sourdough starter. Add 1 cup (250 ml each) of each to the mixing bowl.
Option 2: If using Active Dry Yeast, instead of the sourdough starter, allow allow a packet to froth up in the ginger beer before adding it to the dry ingredients.
Option 3: You can replace the ginger beer with any other brand of beer.

Add one egg.

Bring the dough together.

Knead the dough for roughly 10 minutes.

Prepare a bread tin with nonstick spray and lightly flour the surface. Place the dough in the tin and score the top of the dough.

Cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm dry place.

Once risen, brush egg yolk over the top of the loaf.

Bake for 40 minutes in a preheated oven at 200 °C.

Allow to cool on  a wire rack.

This bread can be served hot after just a few minutes.

It is a marvelously flavoured loaf with only a feint hint of ginger. It is notable how well the dough has risen, making it very light and airy.

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy the books here:
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