As I sit down to write this today I struggle a bit – let’s face it there is nothing I can say about bread that hasn’t been said before. No words, poetically waxed or otherwise that have not already been used, profoundly, profusely or pridefully to describe all of its various attributes. Connoisseurs and bakers can spend long minutes picking apart every nuance of a loaf, for good or for bad and I myself have been known to toss around comments like “nice crumb” and “tender, yet chewy crust” (to other cooks – taken out of context, these phrases could get you into trouble).

Bread is one of the oldest prepared foods known to mankind and is, in some form, a staple to nearly every civilization on earth. Recipes and methodology have changed and evolved throughout the millennia, especially for leavened breads however, the recipes for many unleavened cultural favorites, such as naan – a scrumptious flatbread from India – or the ever popular Mexican tortilla closely resemble their ancient counterparts.  Scottish oatcakes, a treat I make for my Burning man friends each summer and johnnycakes, a native North American delight are also good examples of flat bread recipes that have changed very little since their inception.

Research shows that the oldest known written recipes are thought to be those impressed into three 3,700 year-old clay tablets discovered in what is now Iraq. The three tablets, written in cuneiform, were originally thought to be pharmaceutical formulations until they were later translated by Jean Bottéro, doyen of the cuneiform recipe tablets housed in Yale’s Babylonian Collection. Bottéro discovered that the cuneiform inscription was instead a series of recipes, mainly focusing on wild game birds and vegetables.

Though I have no solid proof it seems to me if folks have been writing down recipes for that long it’s not a huge leap of faith to surmise that somewhere along the way the bread recipes, leavened or otherwise, were being jotted down too.

Cookbooks became popular in America around the mid 1700s, primarily a reprint of an English book called “The Complete Housewife by Eliza Smith”. In 1796 Amelia Simmons self-published a book entitled “American Cookery” which is considered to be the first original American cookbook and was a staple in many homes for decades afterward.

Since then of course we have Marion Cunningham’s “Fanny Farmer cookbook”, The “Joy of Cooking” and “Betty Crocker” cookbooks which have become must-haves for any collector or neophyte cook. When I think of bread however, I skip over those classics in favor of another – the most esteemed James Beard’s “Beard on Bread”.

According to the James Beard Foundation’s website Beard was “anointed the ‘dean of American cookery’ by the New York Times in 1954”. A native of Portland, Oregon he spent his lifetime honing both his culinary skills and his understanding of food itself.  He established the James Beard Cooking School in 1955 and spent the next 30 years traveling and teaching people how to both cook and appreciate food.

Having been raised with “Beard on Bread” it is my instant go to for my favorite bread recipes and the first place I start whenever I wish to mix it up and create something new (or new to me) and wonderful. This time around I was in search of the creating a terrific beer bread.

Beer bread is a pretty old recipe itself and has basic ingredients since it can be made with nothing more than beer, flour and sugar, however this will create an incredibly dense and often sour or bitter tasting bread. Over the years beer bread has become one of those things that I taste with a sense of trepidation as friends and acquaintances pass around their homemade loaves. I have tried several that I like a lot and many that were so hard to swallow I feared choking , as well as a few that tasted so rank I longed to embrace bad manners and spit out my bite.

I don’t especially care for the taste of beer; however I value a good bottle highly as an ingredient for a variety of dishes, including stew, chili, sauces and cheese soups. To this end I most enjoy beer bread that offers up a true essence of the hoppy brew along with complimentary top and bottom notes – in other words I don’t want a mouthful of overly alcoholic, greasy bread that tastes of nothing but beer. Like any dish I expect something a bit more complex, I wish to taste the beer, as well as the nuttiness of the grain and the bite of any other ‘secret’ ingredients the baker may have slipped in.

As the bread snob I am (if I’m going to eat bread it MUST be good or why waste the calories) I like a bread with a light airy texture inside and a somewhat crunchy crust – not so hard you can’t bite it but enough to give your jaw a workout. In my mind I kept thinking beer baguette and yet, that wasn’t quite right, that’s when it hit me – why not turn to one of my favorite ‘go to’ bread recipes and see if I couldn’t just tweak it a little. Down came my 1975, 7^th printing, edition of “Beard on Bread” (thanks mom) which nearly opened itself to page 46 – James’ French-Style Bread.

I can’t even begin to guess how many times I’ve made this recipe, tossing in new ingredients now and then “just to see” – I love adding fresh herbs, especially rosemary or basil, trying out new flour combinations, such as mixing in half a cup of mesquite flour or throwing in some almond meal or flax seed. It’s especially nice when topped with a variety of seeds like fennel, mustard, poppy and sesame seeds.

This time around I decided to change the classic recipe by replacing 1 ½ cups of the water with room temperature, but not flat, beer – in this case a delightful ale created by my friend Chris.  I then sifted 2 1/2 tablespoons of dry mustard and 2 tablespoons of cayenne pepper into the flour (Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat unbleached flour, which I sifted twice). I also increased the salt to 1 ½ tablespoons to help enhance the flavor of the beer. Next, I mixed in 1-cup of shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese about half way through incorporating the flour. I let it rise and bake as usual.

The result was pretty tasty – a perfect crust in my humble opinion and a moderately spicy, nutty bread that had the distinct malty goodness of beer, without any sourness, bitterness or alcohol taste. With 2 tablespoons of cayenne it was slightly spicy for my daughter, but even she admitted the flavor was excellent and it was by no means a tongue burner, just a gentle back heat – which many of my readers know is one of my favorite things. Those who prefer less heat can back off the cayenne as much as they like or omit it completely.

Experimenting with bread can be a fun and rewarding kitchen experience especially if you’re like me and use a Kitchen Aid or other stand mixer to handle the kneading. I also understand that many traditional recipes like Beard’s original French-Style loaf can be easily adapted to bread machines, although I myself have never used one I know several folks who adore theirs. French-style bread is also often called Cuban bread for those searching out bread machine recipes.

I consider this bread recipe to be perfect for those just starting to bake bread and of course would strongly recommend that you pick up your own copy of Beard on Bread as it offers not only exceptional recipes but valuable information on the art of bread making itself.

Let’s face it…there really is nothing that compares to the smell of bread baking… or that first nearly sensual bite of, still warm from the oven, you know you want to go make some now, as for me… I’ve got my own batch of the classic recipe to whip up – it will be the perfect side to my homemade soups (this weekend some sort of potato and alliums soup and a batch of split pea and ham).

Happy baking!