Iron Donkeys: Beer Bread

Last New Year's Eve (2009), a bunch of us got together in Halifax for a potluck followed by a traditional Joel Plaskett show at the Casino. Laura had given me a special baking treat for Christmas and since there were a bunch of donkeys around, it seemed like an appropriate setting to make this:


The original donkey bread

It came from the "spice man", a local Newfoundland entrepreneur. The bag was filled with all the dry ingredients mixed together and you just needed to add a bottle of beer. I think we used a Rickard's Red with it that time, which was fine. Anyway, the thing that really made it special was the little packet of habanero spice that came in the bag, along a warning not to add the whole thing! In the interest of making sure the bread was edible but still wanting a kick, I think we added half the packet and sprinkled a bit more over the top. It was so tasty.

I was really impressed with how easy it was to make (only 5 mins to mix and an hour to bake). I found a recipe and ended making some for a snack when we watched Canada take the gold in Men's Hockey but that turned out a little dry because I baked it too long...

Anyway, I finally got around to making it again and this time I was sure to stop baking when it was done. I followed this recipe, plus to re-create the kick of the original and spruce it up I added:

A half teaspoon of Jalapeno flakes - an essential Iron Donkey spice.

Jalapeno Flakes

And about a quarter cup of shredded Jalapeno Monterrey Jack cheese, "lightly sprinkled" over the loaf for the last 5mins of baking.

Zesty jalapeno monterrey jack

It was fun and easy to make and it's something I could whip up again any time since we always have the base ingredients on-hand:

1 1/2 cups white flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter (melted)
12 oz. beer (homebrewed IPA this time)

The ingredients (the inspiration for the cheese came later)

I would never normally be so organized, but I couldn't pass up a photo op for the blog.

The dry guys hangin' out

Pouring in the beer was pretty fun too... it's extra foamy because the beer was warm.

Pouring the beer over the dry ingredients

Mixed it all together and drizzled with melted butter.

Drizzling over dough with butter

The recipe says to bake for an hour at 375°F but in my oven I baked it for ~45mins till the internal temperature was about 190°F, then added the cheese and browned it.