Beer Bread

With only seven ingredients, this Beer Bread doesn’t require any yeast and is so easy to make homemade bread! Delicious and tender, it pairs perfectly with your favorite soups!

Early on in the pandemic I was one of those people making homemade bread with my sourdough starter. Making homemade bread can seem intimidating, but when I had more time to knead the dough and experiment, it helped the days pass by. However, these days I’m looking for quick and easy recipes that still give that same feeling of homemade goodness. Homemade bread just tastes better, not to mention makes the house smell amazing. Enter this quick and simple beer bread.

Beer bread is a quick bread recipe that incorporates an entire bottle of beer. And if you’re wondering why add the beer, remember this bread has no yeast. The beer acts in place of yeast as the leavening agent, along with the baking powder. Keep in mind, the alcohol evaporates in the baking process, so it is safe for the kids to enjoy as well. Add in cheese if you like, it’s not necessary, but it is delicious. Drizzling butter on top helps it have a nice crust. This beer bread comes together in less than 5 minutes and bakes in less than an hour!

Ingredients for Beer Bread

• Flour – Some recipes use self-rising flour, however, using all-purpose flour with the baking powder (and beer) allowed the bread to rise just enough. Additionally, I like to use what people have on hand. All-purpose flour is a staple to have in your pantry. Self-rising flour is nice, but not something I keep on hand due to the humidity here in Florida.
• Beer – Not one to have beer on hand, I love places that sell just one bottle of beer. That way you can pick up what you need. I’d been gifted a non-alcoholic pumpkin ginger beer and I’m here to say that worked well too. The milder the beer the lighter the flavor in the bread. So if you choose a hoppy beer that will result in an extremely bitter loaf of bread.
• Baking powder – along with your beer, this is the leavening agent. Make sure your baking powder is fresh! You’re looking for fizz. Before making the recipe add a little baking powder to warm water. If it fizzes, you’re good to go. You’d see this when it mixes with the beer, but check ahead rather than waste the beer.
• Cheese – not necessary in traditional beer bread, but highly recommended. Using a 2% helps lower total saturated fat, which seeing as this recipe has quite a bit of butter, might not seem important. However, I’m always of the mindset to cut back on total saturated fat when you can. And with cheese in this recipe, you’d never notice if you’re using 2% or whole.
• Salt – Adding just a smidge here as the cheese can be quite salty. If you’re omitting the cheese, use a smidge more.
• Black Pepper – Pairs nice with the cheese, however, if you’re not using the cheese and are not a fan of pepper, omit it.
• Butter – this is what gives the bread a nice outer crust, not to mention makes the bread more tender. As a dietitian I’m always encouraging you to decrease your total saturated fat intake for the day. This recipe does have quite a bit of saturated fat. My belief is that this bread can be part of your intake for the day all the while being mindful of other sources of saturated fat. This bread can be made with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil instead in the recipe and omit the drizzle of butter on top. Either way, this bread is simple and delicious!

How To Make Beer Bread

It doesn’t get any simpler than mixing all your ingredients together and baking! The hardest part might be grating the cheese. Get the kids involved and have fun making this homemade beer bread! To make this bread extra delicious, make some honey butter (see directions below).

1. Chose your beer and let it come to room temperature, or close to it.
2. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a loaf pan with non stick spray and line with parchment paper leaving a 2” overhang to easily remove the bread.
3. Sifting the flour together with the baking powder, sugar and salt. The bread will be lighter and fluffier. Toss in any extra add-ins at this point if using like cheese and herbs. I added in just 3/4 cup of the cheese here and saved the rest to sprinkle on top.
4. Add in 3 tablespoons of the butter (the remaining tablespoon will be drizzled on top).
5. Add the beer to the dry ingredients, stir until just combined. The batter will be sticky!
6. Transfer to prepared baking loaf pan. Drizzle over melted butter and remaining cheese. Don’t skip the butter on top. It’s what gives the bread an irresistible crust.
7. Bake for about 45 to 55 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. If the top starts to get too brown, tent it with parchment paper or foil.
8. Let the bread rest for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
9. While the bread is cooling make the honey butter. Combine 1-8 ounce stick of butter with 3 tablespoons of honey and a pinch of flaky sea salt.
10. Slice the beer bread and spread the honey butter. Or dip your beer bread into a nice bowl of soup or chili. Either way it’s delicious!

Other Fall Recipes

• Cinnamon Skillet Apples
• Apple Crumble
• Fall Sangria
• Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

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