This Sweet Potato Einkorn Sourdough Stout Bread is moist and flavorful and benefits from a double-ferment as well as a cold retard in the refrigerator overnight.
This bread mashup is what happens when you take mashed sweet potatoes, stout, sourdough, a little rye, rolled oats, and einkorn flour, mix, and bake it in a Dutch oven combo baker. It is a slightly different take on the Einkorn Pumpkin Sourdough Stout Loaf with Seeds I made last year.
The idea for this new version, came about while I was brainstorming what bread I would make for a St. Paddy’s Dinner. The concept began with einkorn and rye. Once I decided which flour to use, I knew exactly what bread I wanted to make.
I was serving Guinness Beef Stew as the main course so it only made sense to use some of the stout for the bread. In addition, a couple of sweet potatoes had been sitting on the counter for a while so I added them to the stew and saved some for the bread. To round out the texture and flavor, I added some rolled oats. What I ended up with was a loaf with a nice crispy crust and a very moist crumb on the inside.
The stout and rye shine through in this bread which made it the perfect accompaniment for the stew. This loaf has good keeping qualities due to the inclusion of the sweet potato and sourdough so it can be enjoyed for several days.
This beer bread is baked cold straight from the refrigerator in a preheated Dutch oven. The loaf transforms well in a cast iron Dutch oven combo baker, but feel free to use any type of Dutch oven.
Adapted from Einkorn Pumpkin Stout Sourdough with Seeds
Equipment needed:
- Mixing bowls – large and medium
- Danish dough whisk or large wooden spoon
- Plastic dough scraper or spatula for scraping down the bowl
- Bench knife for scraping counter and lifting dough
- Lined round proofing basket or bowl lined with a kitchen towel
- Bread scoring lame or knife
- Dutch Oven Combo Baker or other Dutch Oven
- Cooling rack
Sweet Potato Einkorn Stout Bread with Oats
- Yield: 1 Loaf 1x
Description
This Sweet Potato Einkorn Sourdough Stout Bread is moist and flavorful and benefits from a double-ferment as well as a cold retard in the refrigerator overnight.
Ingredients
Levain:
- 150 grams rye flour
- 150 grams stout, room temperature
- 45g starter (100% hydration)
Final Dough
- All of the levain
- 600 grams all-purpose einkorn flour, divided
- 200 grams stout
- 125 grams water
- 75 grams sweet potatoes, cooked, mashed and cooled
- 10 grams sea salt
- 75 grams rolled oats
Instructions
Day 1 (Morning): Feed sourdough starter
- The morning of the day before you plan to make this loaf, feed your sourdough starter so that it is active and ready to go.
Day 1 (Evening): Prepare the levain
- Prepare your levain the evening before you plan to make the dough.
- Place the sourdough starter in a medium bowl and pour the stout over it. Stir to break up the starter. Add in the rye flour and mix the ingredients together until the flour is completely hydrated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it ferment at room temperature overnight (8-12 hours, depending on your starter). The mixture will not double, but become fluffy and airy.
Day 2: Prepare the Final Dough
- Combine wet ingredients (stout, water, sweet potato), and mix to break up the sourdough.
- Mix in 500 grams flour, and all of the oats using a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk, then wet hands to make a sticky dough. Add additional flour as necessary – up to 100 grams.
- Cover the dough and let it autolyse (rest) for 30 – 60 min. (Allowing the dough to rest before adding the salt, helps the gluten begin to develop and keeps the dough from getting tough.)
- After the autolyse, add the salt, and mix until fully incorporated. Add a few drops of water to helps dissolve the salt, if necessary.
- Turn the dough out into a greased bowl. Perform a series of stretch/folds, then cover tightly with plastic wrap.
- Let the dough bulk ferment in the bowl for 3-4 hours. Repeat stretch/folds every 30 min for the first two hours. After the first two hours, bulk ferment on the counter for an additional 1 -2 hours.
- Turn the dough out onto the counter or wooden board, cover and bench rest for 10 min. Prepare a round banneton or linen-lined basket or bowl by dusting with brown or white rice flour. Shape dough into boule, and place in your banneton.
- If you place the dough seam side down, when it is turned out into the Dutch oven, the seam should open up naturally in the oven without having to slash the dough. If you prefer to score the dough before baking, place the boule seam side up in the basket.
- Place dough in a plastic bag or cover tightly with plastic wrap and cold ferment in the fridge (12 – 24 hours).
Day 3: Bake the Loaf
- Preheat the oven to 500F (260C) for at least 40 minutes with a cast iron Dutch Oven on the middle rack. You’ll bake the dough directly from the fridge so don’t remove the proofing basket until you are ready to flip the loaf into the pot.
- Carefully turn the dough out into a combo cooker or Dutch oven, slash (if your seam is down), cover and put in the oven.
- Reduce temperature to 475F (245C) and bake covered for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, carefully remove lid, reduce oven temp to 450F (232C), and continue baking for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until crust turns a dark chestnut brown. Don’t be afraid to bake strong for a dark flavorful crust.
- Cool on wire rack 90 minutes before slicing.
Notes
When using regular bread flour instead of AP Einkorn flour, reduce the amount of flour used.
- Category: Sourdough Beer Bread
Happy Baking!
Cathy
Any thoughts on using whole einkorn instead of all purpose?
You’ll get a denser loaf and it won’t rise as much but it should work. You could always sift out some of the bran to make the flour lighter if you wanted a lighter loaf.
Thank you. I’ll let you know how it goes!
I have your rye stout pumpkin sourdough recipe fermenting on my counter right now, and ai cannot wait to see how it comes out! I am wondering if I am supposed to use a regular sourdough starter for this einkorn bread, or if I need to use a starter made with einkorn flour?
Hi Erin,
If you need a bread made completely with einkorn, then you would want to use an einkorn starter; however, if you are just incorporating einkorn flour for texture and flavor, then a regular starter should be fine.
Happy Baking! Do let me know how the rye stout pumpkin sourdough turns out.
Cathy
Hi Cathy – Did you use a dark or light rye for this? Really looking forward to trying this recipe!
Thank you!
I used home-milled rye flour for this bread which equates to dark rye flour because it is milled from the entire kernel and includes all of the bran and germ in the flour. Light rye doesn’t. However, feel free to use what you have on hand.
Happy Baking!
Cathy