Whole Wheat Honey Beer Rolls with Balt Alt from Union Craft Brewing Co.
I was well into my teens before I ever ate store bought bread at home.
In our house bread day came once or twice per week. On those days my mom would spend the morning standing at the kitchen counter mixing and kneading dough. When the dough was set to rise we were sent outside to play for fear that our running around the house would cause the loaves to fall.
Shortly after lunch the aroma of freshly baked bread would begin to fill the house and waft its way out the kitchen windows to find us in the backyard. Within minutes we would stop climbing trees, or put down our Ninja Turtles, and head straight to the kitchen for that first slice. To this day there is nothing more satisfying than freshly baked bread, topped with butter, and hot from the oven.
This whole wheat bread takes on hints of flavor from the beer, and a little sweetness from the honey. The recipe makes sixteen individual dinner rolls, or great buns for pulled pork sliders.
Pick a beer that is malty and slightly sweet such as a Märzen, Bock, sweet Brown Ale, or Vienna Lager. You can also choose a bitter beer such as an IPA, but the bread will have a bitter flavor fresh out of the oven. The bitterness will dissipate after a day.
I chose Union’s Balt Alt, a malty and slightly sweet German Altbier. The name Altbier means “old beer” in German, but it doesn’t mean that the beer itself is old. Malty ales were commonplace throughout Germany until lagers, especially pilsner, became all the rage. Ales then became known as “old beer,” referencing the old style of ale brewing versus the new style of lager brewing.
Düsseldorf is the city most famous for producing altbier, but Baltimore’s Union Craft Brewing makes one of the best damn alts I’ve ever tasted. The malty and slightly sweet ale gives hints of malt flavor to this rich whole wheat bread.
Ingredients
- 1 12oz bottle/can of beer
- 3 cups Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 cup of all purpose flour plus extra for kneeding
- 2 tsp of yeast
- 1/4 cups warm water
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup of melted butter
- 1/4 tsp of sugar
- Butter for greasing your mixing bowl
- 2 Tbsp melted butter to brush on the bread while baking