Beer Bread Recipe

Beer and bread are actually quite similar.

Yes, you read that right. The same stuff that makes bread rise is the stuff that makes beer alcoholic: yeast.

Thousands of years ago, the only difference between making bread and beer was that bread required for the cereal to be ground for a dough.

Even today, bread and beer have a somewhat similar creation process; yeast is used to transform sugars into carbon dioxide and alcohol.

Given this, it is not entirely surprising that a beer bread recipe would arise. Beer is one of the most popular drinks the world over, and bread is a staple food in many households.

Look, cheese and beer soup is a thing. So beer bread isn’t really that unusual, right?

Put simply, beer bread is made with beer instead of water and yeast. It is also a dough that does not need to be proved or kneaded before baking, making it extremely quick to make from scratch.

All that said, homemade beer bread is remarkably easy to make.

Beer Bread Recipe

Ingredients

• 375g self-rising flour
• 330ml beer
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ plain or brown sugar
• ¼ cup melted butter (optional)

Method

Step One

Pre-heat your oven to 360 °F and grease a pan roughly 5 x 9 inches in size.

When baking bread, it is important to have the oven preheated to the appropriate temperature before placing the dough in the oven – otherwise, the bake time gets messed up.

Step Two

In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, and sugar thoroughly. Sifting the flour is a necessity, otherwise, the other dry ingredients will not incorporate smoothly.

While a ¼ cup of sugar is listed above, the amount of sugar can be tailored to your personal taste.

Balancing out the bitterness of the beer is essential when making it for kids or those who are not overly fond of beer’s flavor. Use your best judgment.

Also, if you would like a softer, fluffier bread, add melted butter to the bowl. If you prefer denser bread, do not add the butter.

Step Three

Crack open the beer and gently pour it into the dry ingredients (try not to create too much foam as you pour) and mix everything together well.

Once mixed, pop it into the greased pan.

Now, if you would like a chewy crust, drizzle the melted butter over the dough. This will create a delightful, buttery crust and will enhance the flavor of the bread itself.

(You can omit the butter from the recipe entirely if you want!)

Step Four

Bake for 45 – 55 minutes. (Yeah, it is that easy.)

A perfectly baked loaf is easy to spot. When the center is set and the crust is a beautiful, golden brown, the bread is ready. Cool for 15 minutes and serve while still warm for optimal deliciousness.

A dense bread like this is great with soups, gumbo, and dips!

Or, add a little extra flavor by tossing a handful of extra ingredients into the mixture, like cheddar and dill, garlic and olives, or feta and sundried tomato, for an especially decadent and savory result.

Experiment with some of your favorite flavors and enjoy the delicious outcome.

Can You Use Any Kind of Beer in Beer Bread?

Each beer will create a different tasting bread. For example, dark beers and stouts will create darker bread with a more pronounced hops flavor, where lighter beers won’t have such a strong palette.

Just about any kind of beer can be used to make beer bread, as it mostly comes down to personal tastes, so take a walk through your local bottle shop and pick out some interesting drinks to try.

However, if you are baking for kids, then lighter, pale beers would be the better choice, as they don’t have quite a strong of malt flavor, and the bitterness of hops can be balanced out by sugar without dumping a full cup of sugar into the mix.

Keep in mind, too, that flavors of beer bread mature and strengthen even after baking.

Here’s a video showing how to make a bacon cheddar variation of beer bread.

Can Kids Eat Beer Bread?

They absolutely can! The alcohol is cooked off during the baking process, so beer bread is perfectly safe for kids to eat – and they will love it!

This is a fun and easy recipe for the kids to join in on too. No kneading means very little mess, and pouring the beer into the dry ingredients feels a little like science experiment because of all the bubbles and froth.

Grab the family and have some fun in the kitchen this weekend! Beer bread mixes can be a fun recipe to try with the kids, no matter how well versed you are in baking, and the results will be tasty and satisfying.

So, does beer bread sound like something you want to try? Follow the recipe above and start baking! Who knows what you will create?

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Have you tried making beer bread?