I came into the bakery this Tuesday morning for a dough shift.  It started like any other… get the I.V. drip of coffee going, crank up some great music, and get dirty.  About half an hour after starting the shift I opened up the fridge to get some yeast for the cinnamon rolls and stopped in my tracks. 

Right below the yeast was a massive keg.

I immediately started wondering (1) what kind of party JP & Michelle had over the weekend and (2) why they hadn’t invited me until I saw the label.  It was a Heiner Brau keg.  That’s when it hit me that it is the most wonderful time of the year: Gouda Beer Bread is back on the menu!

Every year JP & Henryk put their heads together on which beer to use in this bread.  Last year it was a Maerzen.  This  year it’s a Dunkel.  We made our first batch this week and every employee went crazy over it, sampling the bread like you might sample a fine wine.  It truly is a symphony of flavors.  The smoky, creamy cheese chunks have just a small amount of sharpness to them and the kosher salt topping tickles the palette.  The beer really is the star, though.  The dunkel is dark and malty.  When we pour it to prep for the batch of bread it delivers a lovely, frothy head and its aroma fills the kitchen.  It really compliments the honey from Bernard’s Apiaries well!

We’ll have it on Wednesdays and Fridays through Lent.  Stop by around lunchtime and get a slice as an appetizer for one of our sandwiches!