I’ve wanted some great beer bread for a while, so today I decided that I’d make some myself. Now if you’re unfamiliar with beer bread, it’s a savory, crusty and rather dense, great with a hearty stew, spinach artichoke dip or chili. It’s also incredibly simple because you can make it with as few as 4 ingredients.

How cool is that?

Yep, beer bread can be made with flour, sugar, beer and butter/oil/whatever you want to use to grease the pan and the top of the dough.

Now I hear a few objections: but I have kids! But I don’t drink!

And that’s the beauty of baking. The alcohol is burned off in the baking process, leaving a rich, barley/hoppy/yeasty flavor.

A note about the flavor before we dive in: the beer you use WILL change the flavor of your bread. I’ve tried many beers and my favorites have been blondes, lagers like Landshark, brown ales like Downtown Brown (my absolute favorite for beer bread!), or even stouts like Guinness. Beware IPAs because they WILL make your bread bitter (although that’s a very nice touch if you add caraway seeds and a touch more sugar – it’ll turn out similar in flavor to rye bread). However, for the beer fans out there, use whatever you like and decide for yourself. Now, without any further ado…

The Ingredients

3 cups Flour, sifted
1 tbsp Baking Powder
3 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
12 oz Beer of Your Choice
Butter or Oil to grease your pan and glaze the dough

I recommend a 9″ x 4.5″ x 2.5″ bread pan.

The Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Mix your dry ingredients.
3. Pour in the beer and mix. The dough should be sticky and a little chunky.
4. Transfer your dough to the greased bread pan. Brush the top of the dough with butter/oil.
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until your testing utensil of choice comes out of the center clean (I recommend wood skewers, because toothpicks are going to be a little bit on the shallow side).

I have seen a few recipes which add cheddar & bacon, sundried tomatoes & herbs, or other savory treats. Based on what I made, I’d recommend rosemary and instead of using butter, use olive oil. However, if they’re flavors you like, you probably can’t go wrong.

Happy baking!