Mmm...mmm....beer bread

College football, hatch chiles, school starting, what does this all mean....FALL! Funny thing, I would say fall is my favorite season but that wouldn't be true, any season is my favorite season, they all hold promise and beauty, I think it's just the changing of the seasons that makes me happy. It seems to reinvigorate me, the changing of the seasons reminds me that nothing ever stays the same and yet there's always beautiful familiarity in it. Not to get too zen there but I could wax poetic about my love of the turning of the seasons for quite some time. While the weather hasn't exactly changed around here (except for some serious rain) fall has started, ither way I'm pretending it feels like fall, hence the previous post being a stew! To go along with that warm, yummy stew I had to make some bread that showcased two of my favorite ingredients, Texas beer (Shiner!) and hatch peppers. I have to share that my inspiration for the bread was a post/bread that Girlichef did earlier in August. So late last week I set out to mix up these things I love into something else I love...bread, yup no Atkins diet here!

Hatch 'n Hef Bread
1 12oz bottle Shiner Hefewisen (or comparable beer), room temperature
2 tsp salt
1 tsp instant yeast
1 Lb (appx 4 cups) all purpose flour
1/2-1 cup hatch chile peppers, roasted, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1. Mix all dry ingredients together.
2. Stir in beer and chiles.
3. Knead until all is mixed well and bread has smooth consistency.
4. Let rise, covered in a warm place for at least 1 hour.
5. Punch down, let rise again for 2-4 hours.
6. In an oven pre-heated to 450 F, bake for 30-35 minutes. Slash the top of the bread and place a handful of ice cubes in the bottom of the oven (the steam from the ice will help create a crispy crust on the bread).



Oh yea, and for those of you who care (which might only be me), the Longhorns won their season opener against Rice and are looking forward to a great season:


09/04 at Rice (Reliant Stadium)
09/11 Wyoming (Austin)
09/18 at Texas Tech
09/25 UCLA (Austin)
10/02 at Oklahoma (Cottonbowl, Dallas)
10/16 at Nebraska
10/23 Iowa State (Austin)
10/30 Baylor (Austin)
11/06 at Kansas State
11/13 Oklahoma State (Austin)
11/20 Florida Atlantic (Austin)
11/25 Texas A&M (Austin)