Whenever I enter a bakery, the smell reminds of me of the bread making phase my grandfather went through when I was in middle school. One of my goals for 2013 is to perfect the art of fresh baked bread. I recognize that making bread is an art and a science, so I decided to start simple with no-knead concoction: beer bread. Its so easy to make – only 6 ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, bottle of beer, and butter), all of which I had on hand. The natural yeast in the beer causes the bread to rise without messing with kneading and rising and more kneading.
First order of business was to sift 3 cups of flour into a mixing bowl. I don’t own a four-sifter so I shook it through my strainer and it worked perfectly.
Next, I added the rest of the ingredients: 3 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 3/4 cups sugar, and 12oz of beer. I added cheese to mine because I felt like if I did it would taste like a cheddar bay biscuit ala Red Lobster. It didn’t – in fact, I could hardly taste the cheese at all. The bottle of Sam Adams was raided from my fridge, but next time I’ll probably try something more fun.
Adding the beer caused a bubbling reaction and when I stirred, it came together into a thick dough that I poured into a 1 pound loaf pan. In order to create a crisp crust, I poured 1/4 cup of melted butter over top. This is completely optional and, if omitted along with cheese, makes for a vegan treat. Bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees.
Check out the recipe. The comments section is great for tips and ideas for variations.
I bet this would be amazing with soups and chowders! Don’t give up on the Red Lobster cheddar bay biscuit—we need someone in hot persuit!
Yes, I think so too! We used it with our breakfast sandwiches last week.
Hey Shannon, sounds yummy! Any idea how this could be attempted with a GF recipe? Besides the GF beer, which is easy enough to find, I wonder if using a GF flour mix would work the same way… may be worth an experiment!
Hey Katie! So, my initial reaction was “totally, just use GF ingredients.” However, a quick google search for GF beer bread indicates that xantham gum or arrow root (or other top chef molecular gastronomy food) is required. I guess beer bread doesn’t translate well.