WHEN it comes to home cooking, there is nothing quite like the smell and taste of freshly-baked bread.
But – as my own experience confirms – making bread from scratch can be an arduous process that can go wrong at pretty much every stage.
Thankfully, help is at hand in the form of a masterclass with TV's Fabulous Baker Brothers, aka Tom and Henry Herbert, to try my hand at easy ways to make a range of perfect loaves – all with a rather special twist...
The brothers, who bake at the family-run Hobbs House Bakery in Chipping Sodbury in the Cotswolds, are experienced in pretty much every area of baking; what they don't know about the humble loaf is probably not worth knowing. But they faced a new challenge when they embarked on a project with brewer AB InBev, to create an exclusive range of 'Beer Bread' – bespoke bread recipes to match different beers.
"Both bread and beer were developed at the same time thousands of years ago by the Egyptians," says a thoroughly excited Tom – the older of the sibling duo by 10 years. "They share key ingredients, so they're natural bedfellows."
"It took us about six weeks, from start to finish, to learn everything and come up with six individual products," Henry chimes in. "Though in that time, we probably got through more beer ourselves than anything. We're used to drinking them, but now we've learned so much more about beer brewing. It's been really interesting," he adds.
It's not long before I'm getting stuck in and having a go at making a pineapple soda bread (designed to perfectly compliment a chilled bottle of Stella Artois). Possibly one of the simplest types to bake, soda bread uses baking powder – rather than yeast - to rise, so it doesn't need proving, meaning there are fewer stages in the process to mess up.
Instead of using regular flour, we start off with a base of spelt.
"It's a great source of fibre," says Henry, "and has a low GI, so it's quite good for you – and can even help prevent bowel cancer."
We mix it with buttermilk, pineapple and a splash of Stella, before getting our hands in to knead and squeeze it together. Messy, but oh-so satisfying.
After shaping our loaves into slightly flattened 'boules', cutting crosses into the tops to allow the heat through, and baking for about half an hour, we brush them with a glaze made from reduced Stella and pineapple juice, then sprinkle them with barley.
"This bread is like eating a pina colada cocktail," says Tom.
"It's like a summer holiday, but with something more solid and grounding underneath."
Busting out another food history fact, he adds: "It conjures up that feeling of when 19th century Belgian monks brewed beer in their monasteries up in the hills, and then brought it down to the villages when it was ready at Christmas. That warming treat on a winter night would have been incredible.
"Stories like that inspire us. It made us really want to tap into the roots of the beers we're looking at. Rather than simply using the beers themselves to give the loaves flavour, we looked into what gave them each their distinctive flavours and worked out how we could incorporate those raw ingredients into the breads."
While there was nowhere near enough time in the masterclass to try our hand at baking all the recipes the brothers have developed, we are given a limitless supply to taste.
My favourite is the apple, walnut, barley and malted wheat seeded loaf, designed to accompany a cold bottle of Beck's Vier. Because of the bread's strong and chewy texture, the dough needs to be left a good few hours for the yeast to get to work – but it's absolutely worth the wait.
It's one of Henry's favourites too. "Becks is a brew with real authority, so you need a solid bread to match," he says, and recommends topping the macho slice with smoked mackerel and dill yoghurt.
However, the clear winner in the room is the light and fluffy Hoegaarden-inspired brioche, flavoured with spiced orange and coriander. A perfect base, Tom suggests, for a warm pulled pork sandwich with spicy relish.
The rest of the brothers' repertoire includes a traditional sourdough made from Hobbs House Bakery's own 60-year-old yeast starter, to partner with a golden goblet of Leffe, a crusty tiger bread to serve up as a hefty sandwich with a Budweiser and – Tom's favourite – a tangy sea salt and lime-encrusted cornbread, carrying the light and refreshing flavours of an ice-cold Corona.
As we dig in, I can't resist asking whether working so closely with a sibling is as easy as the brothers make it look. Henry is the first to jump at answering.
"The great thing is that I can give him a kick if he gets too big-headed," he says.
"I still have to spend Christmas with him, so we have to get along in the long-term. We love each other so we compromise. For example, he thinks he is cleverer than me, but I am bigger than him."
Class over, we're sent home clutching our very own soda bread loaves. And, in case you were wondering, mine turned out to be an unexpected success, and barely even lasted the journey home.
In 'knead' of some beer and doughy goodness? Here are three of the Fabulous Baker Brothers' star Beer Bread recipes to give a go at home...
SPELT AND BARLEY PINEAPPLE SODA BREAD
(Makes 1 loaf)
300g wholemeal spelt flour
230g buttermilk
50g tinned pineapple, chopped
50ml pineapple juice
30g malted barley, plus an extra pinch for the top
30ml Stella Artois
3tsp baking powder
1tsp sea salt
Preheat your oven and baking stone (or sheet) to 210C.
Place all of your ingredients, except for the pineapple juice and beer, into a bowl and mix together. A mixer is ideal for this, but the mixture can also be combined by hand.
Mix until you have fully combined the ingredients into wet dough. Once fully combined, place into a round tin – or shape it into a round yourself – cut a deep cross across the top, and sprinkle a pinch of malted barley on top.
Pop into the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
While the bread is baking, reduce the pineapple juice and beer in a pan until it has a thick and sticky consistency.
Remove your baked bread from the oven, and paint your pineapple juice onto the top while the loaf is still hot.
SPICED ORANGE AND CORIANDER ALL-BUTTER BRIOCHE
(Makes 1 loaf)
280g strong white flour
2 beaten eggs (keep a little back for glazing the rolls)
60g sugar
60ml milk
60g unsalted butter
20g fresh yeast (or 10g dried yeast dissolved into the milk)
Zest of 1 large orange
10g finely chopped fresh coriander
2tsp sea salt
Small pinch of ground nutmeg and ground cloves
Combine your flour, egg, sugar, yeast, nutmeg and ground cloves, salt and milk together until you have a dough.
Once your dough has a nice smooth consistency, work the butter – at room temperature – into the dough, kneading well until fully combined.
Once your butter is incorporated, add the orange zest and chopped coriander until it is evenly mixed into your dough.
Cover the dough and put in a fridge for 24 hours to strengthen and develop a great flavour.
Portion your dough into six even-sized balls, shape them round and place into a small tray which has been lined with baking paper.
Cover and leave to rise for four to six hours at a room temperature, until they've doubled in size.
Preheat your oven to 210C.
Once risen, brush the dough with the remaining beaten egg. This will give your loaf a beautiful shine.
Bake for 30 minutes until your loaf is golden.
:: APPLE, WALNUT, BARLEY AND MALTED WHEAT SEEDED LOAF
(Makes 1 loaf)
130g strong white flour
30g malted wheat flour
130ml of warm water
50g of sourdough starter
30g dried apple
15g malted barley
5g jumbo oats
5g sunflower seeds
5g millet seeds
5g poppy seeds
5g sea salt
5g fresh yeast (or half that for dried yeast dissolved into the water)
30g walnuts
Weigh together all of your ingredients, except for the walnuts and malted barley, and mix together into a dough.
Knead your dough and add in the walnuts at the end, then leave to rest for one hour.
Knock back your dough before shaping as a bloomer, and roll in coarsely milled malted barley (which can be "milled" with the end of a rolling pin in a heavy bowl or in a pestle and mortar).
Leave to rise for one hour, upside down in a proving basket or bowl.
Pre-heat your oven and baking stone (or heavy metal tray) to 220C.
Gently turn your risen dough out onto the stone or tray and cut a deep line into the side of it with a sharp knife (also known as a long eyelash slash). This will give your loaf a beautiful shape when baked.
Add some splashes of water to a tray in the oven underneath your loaf, to create steam, which will help to develop a lovely crust to your bread.
Bake for 25 minutes.
:: The Fabulous Baker Brothers have partnered with AB InBev to create an exclusive range of Beer Breads, celebrating the varied natural ingredients used in both beer and bread.
