Before yesterday I had never heard of beer bread, so after someone mentioned it in the "heirloom tomato" thread, I did a little research and gave it a shot. I'm fairly lazy when it comes to baking, and rarely plan ahead far enough in advance to allow proper rising times when using yeast, so the idea of beer bread really caught my eye. And the fact I just bottled 25lbs of apricot jam! I used what seems like a fairly standard recipe Baked on 375 (I overbaked it and would probably go down to 350 next time) 3 cups flour 12 oz of beer 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder (depending on flour) 1 tsp of salt Melted butter on top I did three recipes: The darker loaf on the left I made with whole wheat flour and Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale. I used the above recipe and added walnuts, rosemary and honey from my beehive. This was the best loaf of the three. It was not as dense and gut bombing as the other two despite appearances. For the two other loafs I used self-rising flour, so I nixed the baking powder and salt. I'm not sure this was the way to go and I had no experience with self-rising flour prior. These two loaves were more dense and the flour was really in your face if that makes any sense. I used Tangerine wheat beer from lost coast for both, which I think has potential for bread making. The one in the middle I tried to make into cinnamon bread with the spiraled cinnamon inside and raisins. To do this I attempted to roll out the dough on some flour, coat it with a cinnamon/sugar mixture and roll it back up, which seemed to go well. This is also why it has a smoother crust rather then the bubbly outsides of the others. Cutting into it after baking, I didn't find any cinnamon swirls, which was rather disappointing. I think I may have needed to add butter to the surface before putting the cinnamon down. I think I could nail it in another try. The third one included rosemary, cranberries and cheddar cheese. I used a smaller circular mold and halved the recipe. It came out fairly tasty. One could make scones very easily like this, adding more sugar and fruit. While I don't think i'm going to make the greatest bread ever using this technique, It definitely serves to fill a bread craving without running to the store to buy bread or yeast, and best of all, you can make it start to finish in an hour or less. Cheers! I enjoyed some of the nut brown bread with lunch. Grilled Peppers, caprese heirloom tomatoes, lamb sausage, avocado, mozzarella and pickles! Great bread to pile stuff on.
Yeah reading @bierlerner's version and now this... I'm going to make it today. Really random question, would it be ok to sub out 1 oz of the beer and toss in 1oz of bourbon and maybe a dash of vanilla? Bourbon beer bread sounds awesome to me.
I wouldn't see why not. Quick breads are a godsend. Always better than commercial crap. Short amount of time to make too.
Rayre...here's a good combo too. Sub 1/2cup of flour for 1/2 cup of cornmeal. Add in some cheddar and jalapeno. And you have tasty jalapeno cheddar beer bread.
Damn, that's a good idea.. Seems like there's endless combinations/styles to play with. I toasted some of my bread for breakfast this morning and the flavors really came out, particularly the rosemary. My cinnamon bread ended up having a swirl, but not very thick. Both very good toasted. My buddy keeps a sourdough starter and usually brings over a loaf or two of very delicious bread every week, but he's been very bogged down with work (winemaker). I never buy bread at the store anymore because of this, even though there are some great local bakeries. Got my bread fix in this way!
Bread is complete! I used Sam Adams Holiday Porter (I had a straggler in the fridge). Given the "holiday" theme of the beer I decided to add some holiday spices. I went light on the spices because they are powerful, and I had no idea how much to add without ridiculously over spicing it. My additions: Went with whole wheat flour (trying to be a bit more healthy) Brown sugar as my base sweet addition 1/2 cup berries & nuts trail mix (no chocolate) 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/8 tsp ground cloves The result: Success! Great nutty, roasting flavor with the bits of fruit providing a fun sweet contrast here and there. I ever so slightly over cooked it because I used an 8x8 pan instead of a bread pan (do not own one) and didn't think about how it would cook a bit quicker being thinner. I baked it at 350 for 28 minutes just as an FYI for others. Also, the spice is there but very mild. I really enjoy it but I think it could basically be doubled without it remotely being overwhelming. I will 100% absolutely be making this again. So tasty and beyond easy. For now, this will be my breakfast for the next 3-4 days! Thanks for the inspiration guys.
I love the quick bread as well. Will sometimes make one with 12 oz from a bomber that just isn't doing it for me. I use a bit more than a tablespoon of sugar...thoughts?
I used 3 tablespoons per bierlerner's website. Rayre used 1 tbsp then some honey so it seems he was at least higher than 1 tbsp overall as well. With my 3tbsp, there isn't any "sweet" really at all so I couldn't imagine using less.
I actually made a jalapeño cheddar beer bread using an amber ale after talking in this thread. Lol. Turned out awesome. Would be just as great as biscuits or muffins too.
My peaches are just ripening, so I picked one off the tree at the end of dinner outside, and threw it on a grill for 15 minutes. Flash toasted some of the beer cinnamon bread and combined it with some three twins vanilla ice cream... The picture looks like ass, but damn it was good! Dove right in.. forgot the before shot! hah Dinner wasn't bad either! Bro brought home a salmon from his sailing trip. Ok, I'll stop spamming now.
Jalapeno cheddar beer bread. Just went ahead and made it last night thanks to you. lol. Probably could be made into some good biscuits and/or muffins too. http://aleskitchen.com/food/jalapeno-cheddar-beer-bread/
