Proof 419, an Ohio “microbakery” that operates out of a home kitchen, shows what happens when a love for craft beer, an obsession with great bread, and a passion for Toledo, Ohio, combine.
Proof 419 Co-owner Tucker Lux has been home baking for eight or nine years. He’s also done a little homebrewing. He says that his “last batch was a pretty successful bourbon oak aged strong Scotch ale.” He and his wife started getting into craft beer a few years ago when they lived in Portland, Oregon. Recently, they had the idea of combining their interests into breads that paired craft beer with cheese and spices.
“Our breads are very simple,” says their website. “They contain wheat flour, Maumee Bay Beer (and sometimes a little water), salt, and yeast. To this we add whatever ingredients seem to best compliment the aroma and flavors of the beers, like cheeses, black pepper, cayenne, and smoked paprika.”
To date, they’ve perfected three loaves:
- Glass City, which combines Maumee Bay’s Glass City Pale Ale with Parmesan and coarse black pepper.
- IPA, a bread for hopheads that gets its floral taste and slight hoppy bitterness from Maumee Bay's IPA, balanced with shredded and cubed sharp cheddar.
- Buckeye, which combines Maumee Bay’s Buckeye Beer (an historic hometown brew that dates back to 1838) with cheddar cheese, smoked paprika, and a hint of cayenne pepper.
We’re “working on a Stout/black bread and have plans for a spent grain bread made with an Irish Red or something else malty,” says Lux. “The other great product we have is a chocolate shortbread cookie made with Maumee Bay's Total Eclipse breakfast stout.”
Toledo-area residents and visitors can find Proof 419 at the Toledo Farmer's Market every Saturday, and their IPA bread will be on the menu at Maumee Bay Brewpub and Mutz in The Oliver House, downtown. The rest of us can salivate and perhaps be inspired to try our hands at combining beer and bread. To get you started, you can find a recipe for Rye Beer Bread in the premiere issue of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine™. Subscribe today!