Beer Bread
Updated Oct. 12, 2023

- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- Unsalted butter, for greasing the pan
- Cornmeal
- 3cups all-purpose flour (see Tip)
- 3teaspoons baking powder
- 1teaspoon kosher salt
- 2tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1(12-ounce) can beer (the blander the better)
- 2tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan and dust with cornmeal. For stovetop baking, use a heavy Dutch oven or similar pot that has been greased and dusted with cornmeal but not heated.
- Step 2
Mix flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and stir in the beer. Place batter in the pan. Oven baking will take about 35 minutes. For stovetop baking, cover the pan and place it on a heat shield over a low to medium flame and bake until a knife or cake tester comes out clean.
- Step 3
Remove from pan, drizzle with butter if desired and allow to cool completely before slicing. The bread has a texture similar to that of English muffins and tastes best toasted.
- Three cups of self-rising flour can be substituted. Omit the baking powder and salt.
Private Notes
Comments
I’ve made three loaves in the last 24 hours and have learned that it makes a huge difference in the height of the bread if you leave the dough out for fifteen or twenty minutes before popping it in the oven; easily a third higher. This is an easy, delicious recipe!
An amazing, easy and fast recipe. I used Stella Artois beer (don't know if you can find it in USA, I live in Argentina) and it was perfect. I was so pleased with the bread that I made a second one the day after, and that time I added a medium size onion, chopped, and black olives, pitted and chopped. I also sprinkled with melted butter as in recipe, which I hadn't done the first time. Really worth it for the looks and the flavor. Finished with some black pepper on top of the butter.
To echo past comments, I also recommend using the blandest beer you have. I used Miller Lite, and it turned out great. One other note-- I don't bake much and this is probably a rookie mistake, but I would suggest using a beer that's at room temperature. I pulled a cold one out of the fridge and poured it into the batter. It probably didn't bake as evenly as it could have. That said, will definitely make this again.
Three teaspoons (baking powder) equals 1 Tablespoon. Since you’ve already got the Tablespoon out why not just say that and use it?
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times, primarily to use up some beer that I don’t like, and this blessedly simple bread has become a favorite, just as the recipe is written, including the butter drizzle. This time around, I added touches of cinnamon and cardamom and increased the sugar by one tablespoon. It tasted amazing just out of the oven but was even better this morning, toasted to a perfect crunch.
I was looking for a bread to serve with split pea soup and stumbled upon this recipe. It is wonderful - perfect with a hearty soup. And, really, it can be any easier. I will be making this a lot in the future.
