Facts

Ale Bread

Poolish Ferment Ingredients

65ml lukewarm ale

65g white flour

7g yeast sachet

Bread Ingredients

All of the polish ferment

375g white flour

25g wholemeal flour

7g yeast sachet

250ml lukewarm water

10g salt

Extra flour for dusting

Semolina for dusting

Sugar Cured Salmon Ingredients

300g piece of Tasmanian Atlantic salmon

50g rock salt

50g Muscovado unrefined sugar

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

Room temperature butter and lemon to serve

This is a rustic sort of way to prepare food, almost like they did years ago around a big wooden table with pewter steins full of malty ales, lots of laughter with the sounds of live music in the background.

It’s just as good today as it was centuries ago, so here’s my take on this good old classic. Make sure you use a good quality ale to give the bread that nice rich creamy flavour, and you can drink the rest in the making process, you better get a few extra because it takes a few hours to make. This bread is made with a ferment first (poolish), then added to the bread dough which gives it a really tasty beer flavour.

Firstly make the poolish ferment by adding all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl and cover with cling wrap, leave for 30 minutes until bubbly and swollen.

Then add the bread ingredients to the ferment adding the water slowly to form a good dough either by hand or with a mixer with the dough hook attached.

Rest the dough for 1 hour, then with a scraper and remove dough and lightly knead and return to the bowl, after 1 hour repeat this process.

Remove the dough and knead lightly again on a floured surface and cut the dough into 2 pieces then form the shape you desire, slash the tops in a cross, then roll in a little semolina and place on a well greased tray to prove for an hour or till doubled in size.

Preheat your oven to 250° preferably with an oven stone to get that crusty bottom and bake at that temp for 5 minutes then reduce to 220° for a further 10 minutes or until the bread is well coloured and has a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.

Cool on wire racks then serve warm with butter.

To prepare the salmon, remove any bones from the salmon and leave the skin on.

Mix the salt, sugar and dill together and push onto the top of the flesh side salmon, place onto a small dish and cover with cling wrap and leave overnight.

Remove the excess salt and slice the salmon thinly, spread some butter on a piece of warm ale bread, top with salmon, squeeze of lemon and tuck in with a few extra ales, perfect!