Beer Bread: Recipes and Baking Tips

Beer bread is the easiest bread you'll ever make from scratch. It's delicious and versatile, too. There's nothing quite like the aroma of baking bread to turn a simple meal, say, of soup and salad, into a highly anticipated event. Beer bread also freezes well, so, once you've got the oven turned on, it's economical to whip up extra loaves for later. Beer bread, at its most basic, is a three-ingredient wonder: self-rising flour, sugar, beer. As we say at my house: mix, pour into the pan, repeat!

Basic recipe for beer bread

Ingredient-wise, it doesn't get any easier than this. I'll put a recipe list at the end, but here are the fundamentals of all beer bread recipes: 3 cups of self-rising flour, ¼ (or up to ½) cup sugar , and 12 oz. beer (at room temperature). This basic recipe may be varied in three different ways. First, the type of flour may be changed. Secondly, the crust can be drenched or glazed to enhance flavor or appearance. Finally, the bread itself can be flavored with additional ingredients, such as spices, seeds and cheeses.

Flours, all-purpose and whole grain

If you are not using self-rising flour to make beer bread, you must add salt and baking powder to the basic mix. This is to help the loaf obtain the proper rise. Beer bread recipes using all-purpose flour generally call for adding 3 teaspoons of baking powder and 1 teaspoon of salt.

If you would like to use whole grain flour, you may substitute up to 2 cups of whole grain flour for regular (all-purpose). The Farmgirl, recipe linked below, says she adds a little water to the mix, apparently to compensate for the additional fiber.

In my own kitchen, I have made many beer bread loaves with a 2:1 whole grain, regular flour ratio and have never added additional liquid. There's no doubt this makes a heavy batter and a hearty loaf, however. So my advice is simply to "let the bowl talk to you" after you mix in the beer. If it "says" a few tablespoons of water would be nice, go for it!

Drenching or glazing the crust

One of Recipezaar's basic beer bread recipes gives a nice nod to traditional butter tops. This recipe calls for ¼ to ½ cup melted butter. The melted butter is poured over the batter before it goes in the oven. Wow. I have to admit right now: as far as I'm concerned there is something completely scrumptious about beer bread and butter, so you can imagine how this concoction affects me! The only thing that might be better is pouring melted garlic butter over the loaf before baking. Oh, yeah.

If the melted butter route seems too much for you, the crust can be left as is or given a simple butter brush when the loaf is finished baking. Alternatively, about three minutes before the loaf is done, an egg glaze can be brushed on and the loaf returned to the oven for browning.

Jazzing up your loaf

To me, the wonder of beer bread is its simplicity. On the other hand, this hearty, rustic bread is a nice showcase for the flavorful offerings of spices, seeds and cheeses. Dried onion and chives. Rye, sesame or sunflower seeds. Dried or freshly chopped basil, rosemary or oregano. Cheeses, from grated sharp cheddar to crumbled feta.

When I'm not eating toasted beer bread with butter and honey (yum!), one of my favorite add-ins is on the opposite side of the flavor wheel: coarsely chopped olives. As you can see, basic beer bread can handle a wide range of flavors, big and small, beautifully.

Sift that flour!

In return for saving you from punching dough and waiting for it to rise, beer bread asks only one thing of you, the baker: that you please sift your flour!

Flour gets compacted during storage and scooping it out of the bag or canister into a measuring cup doesn't do enough to fluff it up. (The culinary term for this is to "aerate" the flour.) If you don't have a sifter, here are a few ways to aerate your flour and, thus, avoid beer brick.

Ways to sift flour without a sifter

One way to aerate flour is to spoon it into your measuring cup and then into your bowl (being careful not to pack it down too much). You can also measure the flour, put it in a bowl, use a wire whisk to stir in air, then re-measure. Finally, you can sift the flour through a fine wire mesh strainer or a colander.

Beer Bread recipes and baking tips

Beer bread is easy and delicious. It can showcase many different flavors, from sweet to savory. To avoid beer brick, take a minute to whisk or sift some air into your flour. Then mix, bake and . . . yummm . . . Enjoy!

Recipes:

"Beer Bread," Recipezaar.

"Whole Wheat Beer Bread (and a whole lot more)," Farmgirl Fare.

"Basil Beer Quick Bread," CD Kitchen.