Rustic whole wheat BEER bread! Somewhat successful...?

[ladyphan]

I wanted to make something nice for my father, since my parents are coming here for the day and all of my cooking is always directed towards my mother's tastes. I decided to make rustic beer bread, which is incredibly easy although it takes a lot of time to rise. I don't drink beer, and had one extra bottle of my father's still in the fridge from the last time he visited, so I decided to make it into this beer bread for him. I made it strictly of whole wheat, which apparently isn't the best for a fluffy bread. This is more like a crusty bread for use with soups or jam, not exactly a sandwich type. Next time I make it I'd probably do half white flour or bread flour and half whole wheat to make it a little less heavy. It's pretty darn healthy this way, though! I hope he likes it. Here's the recipe before I haplessly modified it into something way too heavy.

Ingredients:

For the yeast sponge:

1 1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast

1/2 cup white flour

1/2 cup warm water (about 100 degrees)

Mix together and allow to sit for 30 minutes in a warm place. Next, add the following ingredients.

12 oz bottled beer

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

Mix together until it's a batter and cover with a warm damp cloth and allow to rise for 2 hours in a warm place. Once it's doubled in size, scrape it onto a floured board and shape into a loaf, powder with flour and place on a floured baking pan (you can use corn meal for more of a crunch on the bottom, but I used a handful of rolled oats). Cover with a dry towel and allow to rise for another hour. Slice the top with a razor blade or sharp knife and bake for 35-40 minutes at 425 degrees. Allow to cool completely before you slice it and PRESTO! Beer bread.