Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Homemade Beer Bread!

There is something special about homemade bread; it tastes delicious, smells heavenly, and gives you a sense of pride as you pull it out of the oven. One of the great things about making something with your own hands is that you can tailor it to suit your needs, wants, and to use what you have in your kitchen-- fast food joints aren't the only places where you can "have it your way".

Take beer bread, for example. Are you wanting to do a sweet dessert bread? Try a warm, delicious vanilla ale with brown sugar. Or, try a light beer and add in cheese, onions, and peppers and make a delicious side for your dinners {or spice up a sandwich!}. I am sharing with you the base recipe here for the bread, and I encourage you to add in your favorites and make it your own!

What You Need:
  •  A bread pan
  • A mixing bowl and mixing spoon
  • 12-16 ounces of beer {adding extra ingredients will require more liquid to mix it together, but don't add too much!}
  • 1/4 cup of melted butter
  • 3 cups of sifted, self-rising flour
What Can You Add?:
  • Jalapenos
  • Cheese
  • Honey
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Onions
  • Spices
  • Cocoa
  • Chocolate Chips
  • Brown sugar
  • Whatever else sounds good to you!
  • Or, you can leave it plain and use for delicious sandwiches.
Directions:
  1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
  2. Slowly melt butter in a saucepan
  3. Butter and flour your bread pan and set it aside
  4. Sift and measure out 3 cups of flour and add it to the mixing bowl
  5. Add any other dry ingredients and blend well
  6. Add 12 ounces of beer and mix. Do not stir too much, and do not knead the dough! If you need a little more liquid, add just a little extra beer until all flour is mixed in
  7. Pour into bread pan and add any toppings, then finish off with coating the top of the bread with the melted butter. This will create a crispy and buttery taste to the bread. When you are making a sweet bread, glazing the top with honey makes it extra delicious
  8. Bake for 40-45 minutes. At the 40 minute mark, you will need to check on the bread to see how it is doing. Depending on your oven, it could be done, or it could even need longer than 45 minutes.
  9. Let cool for at least 10 minutes, then test out your loaf with a slice of butter!
Some notes: I have found at times that I added too much flour, {or did not sift it well enough}, and the dough is still too... doughy after baking. Be careful not to add too much flour or beer. It may take several times of messing with the recipe to create one that is perfect for YOU. It is important to use self-rising flour and to not knead the dough or stir too much after the beer is added. I am also not the world's most perfect baker or recipe writer, so please feel free to comment any advice or criticisms {or praises} regarding this recipe! Best of luck to you all, and let me know how it turns out and what YOU did to make it your own!

Yum

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