Easy bake-and-take Beer Bread
For super busy people who would still like to bring something to the party that is not store-bought, beer bread is very easy to bake and take.
With a basic recipe of three ingredients and one hour of bake time in the oven, a fresh bread would be a great addition to the party or dinner table. From savory cheddar bacon bread for the next sporting event to sweet pumpkin pecan for the holiday table, the basic recipe is easily customized to suit any event.
First, let’s see just how simple it is to make beer bread.
In a bowl, sift together 3 cups of selfrising our and 3 tablespoons of white sugar then combine with 12 ounces of beer. The resulting dough will be sticky. Spread dough into a buttered 9-by-5 loaf pan then place the loaf in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 50-55 minutes until golden.
After about 35-40 minutes of baking, you might like to spoon 2 tablespoons melted butter over the top of the crust and return to oven to nish baking. When it is ready, the beer bread will have a crusty top with a soft center.
There are many excellent recipes using a combination of all-purpose our, fresh baking soda and salt in place of the selfrising our. If you don’t mind making a few extra measurements, either way will work ne.
The yeast necessary for making bread is also involved in the process for making beer; however, much of the leavening agents have been ltered out of our most common beers on the shelf. To provide the required leavening, either selfrising our or all-purpose our combined with baking powder is needed.
Now, let’s make it fun. Different types of beer create different avors, even though most of the alcohol content is lost during baking. A nice crisp pilsner will create a lighter avor versus the richness of a dark stout or the smoky malts of a porter.
Once you’ve chosen the beer for the batch, the bread can be customized with a myriad of ingredients:
Microbrewery Masterpiece: Combine dry ingredients with a bottle of a distinct brew from your favorite craft or microbrewery. Add complementary ingredients or just let their great avor shine.
Rosemary Beer Bread: Add 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary to dry ingredients and proceed with recipe. This small addition of avor works well with many herbs and spices; dill, caraway seeds, oregano and thyme. If you are a cheese-lover, try adding 1/2 cup of gruyere or parmesan to the mix.
Cheddar Bacon Beer Bread: Add 1-1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar and four slices of bacon, cooked and chopped, to the dry ingredients before adding the beer then proceed with recipe. This version would be good with either a light or dark beer.
Olive Beer Bread: Add 1 cup of your favorite olives, chopped, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning to the dry ingredients. Make it an olive cheese beer bread by also adding 1/2 cup of parmesan or Asiago cheese or an olive and sun-dried tomato version adding 1/2 cup drained sun dried tomatoes.
Pumpkin Pecan Beer Bread: Replace sugar in recipe with 3 tablespoons of honey. Add 1 cup pumpkin puree, 1/4 cup of chopped pecans and 1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice to the our mixture. Consider using seasonal ale for the beer.
Apricot Cranberry Beer Bread: Add 1/4 cup dried apricots, 1/4 cup dried cranberries and 1/2 teaspoon orange zest to the dry ingredients. Consider selecting a beer with a citrus nish.
The Chocolate Fix Beer Bread: Combine basic dry ingredients with 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1-1/2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/3 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips or roughly grated chocolate. Use a chocolate beer, amber with strong chocolate notes or stout.
Not only will fresh beer bread be a great addition to meals, it is a quick and easy dish sure to be welcome at any party or event.
In a world of fast food, fresh baked beer breads wrapped in cheerful cellophane, craft papers, burlaps and bows would make nice presents or thank you gifts. Placed in a basket with small jars of condiments, mustards, olive mix or preserves the breads make a great gift with a personal touch.
As a matter of fact for gifts that can be enjoyed later, it would be easy to wrap the dry ingredients for beer bread including special items like nuts, dried fruits and spices in cute bags or layered in jars tagged with the recipe. Make the presentation extra special by packaging the dry mix with an appropriate specialty brew and complementing condiments. Enjoy!
Lynn Laird is a writer, fine artist and selfprofessed bon vivant living in Bossier. With “Flair for Cooking,” she seeks out interesting ingredients and techniques to help make everyday meals just a touch more fabulous. She can reached at flairforcooking@gmail. com.
