Heat the beer to approx. 30 °C and dissolve the yeast and honey in it. Wait 10 minutes, then process the yeast/beer mixture with the flour and 3 tbsp olive oil in a food processor or by hand to form a soft but no longer very sticky dough. If necessary, add a little flour to a dough that is too wet or a little beer or water to a dough that is too dry. Grease a large bowl with the remaining olive oil and leave the dough to mature in the bowl, covered, for several hours or even overnight in the fridge.
Then allow the dough to rise further at room temperature and pull it outwards on all sides in the bowl and fold it back to the center. This process should be repeated approx. 3 - 4 times at 30-minute intervals to build up the gluten structure and create nice bubbles in the dough.
After the dough has been allowed to rise at room temperature for a few hours and folded, it should be nice and soft and bubbly. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and divide into 2 loaves using a knife or spatula without kneading or shaping. Carefully flour all sides and gently pull into shape, then place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, score diagonally with a sharp knife and leave to rest again at room temperature, covered with a cloth, for at least 1 - 2 hours.
Fill the monolith with fresh charcoal and light it. Insert both deflector stones and place a heat-resistant container on top of the deflector. I like to use an old cast iron pan or a Dutch oven lid for this. Insert the grates and place the pizza stone in the middle. With the air inlet and outlet open, allow the grill to reach approx. 260 °C and then slowly adjust the temperature so that this temperature is maintained and the ceramic is heated through. Meanwhile, heat approx. 1 liter of water.
Carefully lift the bread dough onto the hot pizza stone by hand or with the Monolith pizza peel (tip: cut baking paper to the size of the pizza stone) and then pour the water into the hot container on the deflector to create steam. Be careful not to pour water onto the deflector stones or into the embers and make sure you don't get caught in the steam cloud! A clean watering can is also ideal for this. Close the lid of the Monolith and also close the supply and exhaust air to bake the bread in the hot steam, which ensures the typical crust. The temperature then drops to approx. 200 - 220°C over the next few minutes.
After approx. 10 minutes, open the supply and exhaust air again to about half and bake the bread for a further 10 - 15 minutes, depending on the size. Remove the loaves from the monolith with a pizza peel and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Tip: The tapping test helps to check the degree of doneness: if you gently tap the underside of the loaves, they should sound hollow and not dull. A pair of heat-resistant gloves such as the Monolith leather gloves are helpful here!
The bread tastes wonderful with good butter or a little olive oil and salt, but of course also goes well with many dishes as a BBQ side dish.
Marco Greulich hopes you enjoy baking it!
