Quick Beer Bread

St. Patrick’s Day is over and chances are you still have beer taking up space in the refrigerator.  Put that lager and ale to work and make your own easy beer bread.  This recipe was adapted from the Herbed Beer Bread from the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion.  This recipe is not a yeasted dough, but is a quick bread due to the use of baking powder.  I will show you how to create plain Beer Bread and then give flavor suggestions.  The original recipe includes herbs and sunflower seeds, but my method will let you choose your own flavors to suit your needs.  If you are looking to make a yeasted beer bread dough; I will be covering this recipe in the future.  Subscribe to my email updates and Facebook page to stay up with the latest recipes, trends, and bakery visits.

Beer Bread (Quick Bread Style)

2C          304 g      All-Purpose Flour, unbleached (King Arthur Flour or other brand)
1/2 C       68 g      Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 C       84 g      Semolina
1 Tbsp       4 g       Baking Powder
1 tsp           4 g       Salt, kosher
2 Tbsp     28 g      Sugar, granulated
12 oz.     340 g      Beer, Lager or Dark styles work best
3 Tbsp     38 g      Vegetable Oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 (F).  Grease a 9×5 loaf pan and reserve it for later.
2. Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl, excluding the beer and vegetable oil.  Mix with paddle attachment on medium speed till well combined.
3. Add the beer and oil and mix till ingredients are uniform and free of dry areas.
   
4. Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.
5. Test for done-ness by inserting a toothpick into the center of your loaf.  If the toothpick is not clean, bake for 5 – 10 minutes more and re-test.  If the tooth pick is clean, remove pan from the oven to cool.
6. After 15 minutes, carefully remove bread from the pan and continue to cool on cooling rack.
7. When bread has been cooled, slice with a sharp serrated knife and serve.
   

This is the base recipe, but the flavors are bland as it is written.  The original recipe mixed herbs and sunflower seeds into the dough, however, I was not able to find unsalted sunflower kernels in my neighborhood.  I decided to share this recipe as a plain mix and allow you to combine flavors of your choosing.  This way, you are able to use whatever is at your disposal and hopefully avoid an extra trip to the local grocery store.  Here are some flavor ideas to start with, but be aware that you must choose the quantity for each additional ingredient based on your own taste.

**6 Flavor Ideas**

Sunflower Seed & Mixed Herb
Calls for:  Unsalted/hulled sunflower seeds.  An equal parts mix of dried parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary; added to taste.
-Add this after step 3.  Mix on low speed till just combined.

Cheddar & Chive
Calls for:  Shredded or small cubed sharp cheddar cheese.  Chives that have been diced small.
-Add this after step 3.  Mix on low speed till just combined.

Caramelized Onion & Fennel Seed
Calls for:  Small diced onions, caramelized and cooled to room temperature.  Fennel seed found in spice aisle or spice specialty shop.
-Add this after step 3.  Mix on low speed till just combined.

Bacon
Calls for:  Cooked bacon (not dark) cooled to room temperature and diced small.
-Add this after step 3.  Mix on low speed till just combined.

7 Grain
Calls for:  A mixture of your choosing from the following list (Barley, Sesame Seed, Fennel Seed, Caraway, Spelt, Red Wheat Berries, Oats, Pumpkin Seed, Sunflower Seed, Quinoa)  Soak in warm water for 1 hour.
-Drain the mixture before adding to your batter.  Modify the bread recipe above by changing the baking powder to 6 g and the beer to 300 g.  Add the drained seed mixture after step 3.  Mix on low speed till just combined.

Honey Orange & Coriander
Calls for:  Honey, Orange zest, and dried ground Coriander.
-  Replace the sugar in the recipe with 35 g of honey.  Add this after step 3.  Mix on low speed till just combined.

Do any of these recipes sound like a new favorite?  Try one out and tell us how it worked for YOU.  Good, bad, ugly, whatever the case; let me know.  Send me a picture of what you baked and I will show it off.  You can also share your picture on my Facebook page.  Make sure to give it a “Like” while you are there.  Good luck!

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