This post all came about because of a misunderstanding. I misheard some comment – it does not matter what was said right now, and let me assure you that the mishearing was awesomer than the original – and my mind took the jumble of sounds and turned them into “beer bread.” Well, what a delicious mistake my mind made.
The best thing about beer bread is that it has a high deliciousness to work ratio: each minute of work brings about a whole ton of deliciousness. It’s just simple math. If you have not figured it out by now, this is the main way that I pick recipes and hold on to them. Heck, the higher the deliciousness to work ratio, the more likely it is that a recipe will find a home in my recipe box.
So why make this? Besides the obvious draw of the beer in beer bread, there is also the strong pull of the bread aspect. Is there anything better than spreading a pat of fresh butter on a warm-from-the-oven piece of bread? I think not and I challenge you to a duel if you say otherwise. And good bread is important. Bread is like a home’s foundation – without good bread you are up shit creek without a paddle. Wait, those metaphors are getting mixed (just like the ingredients you will soon read about). That’s how worked up I get over the importance of good bread.
Now before I get to the ingredients, a small point: beer bread works as a good base in few ways – you can spread all sorts of great things on it and make all sorts of great sandwiches, and you can put wonderful things in it. Basically, you can put deliciousness foods on it and in it. Fresh herbs, olives, garlics, and cheese all make the bread extra great.
What you need:
1 can beer
3 cups flour (use self-rising or baking soda if you want a less dense bread)
3 tablespoons of sugar
What you do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the dry ingredients. Then, add the beer. Get that bread dough all nice and mixed and sticky using your hands. Aw yeah, feel the dough. Put it in a bread pan and bake for 50-60 minutes. Take it out, let it cool, and dig in. Woo! Beer!
9 replies on “Beer Bread!”
Eat with spicy mustard! I drive miles to a certain brewery just to eat beer bread and spicy mustard.
I luhrrrve beer bread! I first had it with this garlicky cheese spread and it was divine.
the first time I made beer bread I added cheese into the dough, cut up into tiny pieces which = amazing! And now I want beer bread hehe.
Oh good idea!
mmm so keen to try this. Does it make a difference what kind of beer is used? Dark lager or light ale or am I just getting too detailoriented…
Short answer: yes, but it is mostly all delicious. Beer and bread manufacture have been intimately connected for centuries; it’s only right to restore the balance.
The best I’ve found is a honey brown ale. It gives just a hint of sweet to the bread. I tried guinness beer bread once and it was just too much for me.
I just made guinness bread and the recipe was almost identical but it called for 1/3 of a cup of molasses as well as the sugar. As a result it was sweeter, but kind of more like boston brown bread or some thing.
Ah that would have helped! I just used the guinness. It made for really good bread with my stew, but it wasn’t good for sandwich bread.