Trub Bread

This is really not the time to have a wild hair. We’re moving in a few, rapidly approaching weeks. Piles of projects and details lie in waiting. I should be packing something. But tonight, as I prepared to wash out my carboys from my wit fermentations, I thought, Gee, I should use this yeast to bake some bread.

I haven’t baked bread in ages. It smells so good. I just had to.

So I dropped everything, curious to see how that yeast would act in bread, and interested to see what flavors it might impart. Not looking to kill a lot of time, I turned to an old reliable, Betty Crocker, and found a wheat bread recipe of the easiest ilk. I substituted 1/4 cup of Whiteknuckle Wit trub for the yeast called for, and let it rise a little longer than the 30 minutes the recipe said would suffice. The kitchen was none too warm, and I really didn’t pay attention to the time.

The result? Two right-fine loaves of bread. The yeast character definitely came through, and the hops in the trub imparted a slight earthy, dry bitterness. Nothing detracting, just a hint of the fact of beer that existed therein.

I’ll pack something tomorrow.