Beer & Cheese Bread, Bernard Clayton Recipe

This has got to be the best bread I have ever had. Ever. And I make it myself. So anyone should be able to do it. The recipe is from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads, and someone has been kind enough to type out the entire recipe exactly as written in the book (is that legal?), here. The key ingredients are beer and two kinds of cheese.

INGREDIENTS:

--5 cups bread flour
--2 packets rapid-rise yeast
--12 oz. beer (really doesn't matter what kind--this batch was Miller Lite)
--12 oz. processed American or Swiss cheese (we're talking sandwich slices here, or you could even use Velveeta, if you believe that Velveeta is actually food; I prefer American)
--2 Tbsp. sugar
--1Tbsp. salt
--2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
--8 oz. Natural (block) Swiss cheese

In a heavy saucepan, heat the beer, American cheese, sugar, salt, and butter just until melted and blended.

Immediately remove from heat, and allow the liquid to cool until it's just "warm." Too hot, and it will kill the yeast, too cool and the yeast won't activate. Stir occasionally to keep the cheese blended. I pour mine out of the saucepan I heated it in, to speed the process.

Meanwhile, combine 2 cups of the bread flour with the 2 packets of yeast in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Chop up the 8 oz. of Swiss cheese into 1/4-inch pieces. Later, when you leave the room and your BAD counter-surfing ninja poodle eats the cheese, you'll have to chop up 8 MORE ounces.

Once the liquid mixture has cooled sufficiently, add it to the flour and yeast mixture you've set aside, and stir it well with a wooden spoon or with a mixer. Then gradually add in the remaining 3 cups of flour, blending by hand or mixer until the dough is a shaggy mass that cleans the sides of the bowl.

Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface, working the Swiss cheese cubes into the dough as you knead the dough for several minutes, slamming it against the work surface occasionally.

Place dough in a large, buttered bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover tightly and set to rise until doubled, at least an hour. My personal no-fail dough rising method in this drafty house is to boil a cup of water in the microwave, then push the cup of water into the corner of the microwave, and set the dough bowl in the microwave with the hot water, shut the door and leave it for an hour.

Punch the dough down for a minute or so, working the air out of the dough, but don't man-handle it for too long.

Divide the dough into two equal portions, then with one portion at a time, press the dough out into a rectangular shape that is a couple of inches longer and wider than your loaf pans (this recipe calls for 8" x 4" loaf pans). Leaving 1/2" intact at the top end, cut the slab of dough into three equal pieces, and then braid them, tucking the ends under. (You can skip the braiding--I only do it because Bernard says to, and I kind of love him.)

Place the loaves into buttered pans (actually, I just used cooking spray, liberally applied), cover the tops with wax paper, and set to rise. I use the closed-microwave method here, too.

Recipes always say to let loaves rise to "1/4-inch above the rim of the loaf pan," but if I can get more rise in a loaf, I like it even better!

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes, tenting the top of the loaves with aluminum foil for the final 10-15 minutes of baking time, to prevent the tops from over-browning. Turn loaves out onto a wire rack to cool, and be sure to get a slice while it's still warm, just to eat out of hand. This stuff is a meal in itself, but see Ninja Poodles! for a quick recipe for one of the best grilled-cheese sandwiches you ever had.