Beer potbrood
Bread from a pot, beer instead of yeast, and no kneading — the old blog's "beer bread" post distilled to its honest core. The beer does the raising; the pot does the baking; you do the standing around.
Bread from a pot, beer instead of yeast, and no kneading — the old blog's "beer bread" post distilled to its honest core. The beer does the raising; the pot does the baking; you do the standing around.
Ingredients
- 4 cups self-raising flour
- 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp salt
- 1 can (440 ml) lager, room temperature
- Butter — for the pot and melted for the top
Method
- Stir the flour, sugar, salt and beer into a shaggy dough. Do not overwork it — this is a stir, not a workout.
- Into a well-buttered flat potjie or heavy pot; brush the top with melted butter and put the lid on.
- Bake beside gentle coals with a few coals on the lid, 45–60 minutes, turning the pot now and then.
- It's done when it knocks hollow. Eat warm with butter, apricot jam, or next to the potjie.
Engineer's view
Read left to right: ingredients merge into steps, steps merge into supper.
| Ingredient | Process → | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-raising flour 4 cups | Stir to a shaggy dough — don't overwork | Into the buttered pot · lid on | Beside gentle coals, a few on the lid · 45–60 min · hollow knock = done |
| Sugar & salt 1 tbsp / 1 tsp | |||
| Lager 440 ml, room temp | |||
| Butter | Grease the pot · brush the top | ||
Which fire, and which day? Gentle coals, the 10-second hand test, with a few coals on the lid. Hold your palm at grid height and count: 4 seconds is hot, 6 is hot-medium, 8 is medium, 10 or more is gentle. The full reading is the hand test, and the wood that makes those coals is in the wood guide. Buying notes: what you eat it with. Thursday 24 September is National Braai Day.
Questions the fire actually gets
Does potbrood use yeast?
No. A 440 ml can of lager, at room temperature, does the raising, with self-raising flour, a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt. Stir it shaggy. Do not knead.
What heat for potbrood?
Gentle coals, the 10-second hand test. A well-buttered flat potjie, lid on, a few coals on the lid, 45–60 minutes, turning the pot now and then. It is done when it knocks hollow.
What do you eat it with?
Warm, with butter or apricot jam, or next to a potjie. It is one loaf, not a batch of rolls — roosterkoek is the grid bread if you need eight.
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