Super Easy Beer Bread

Last night Grace wanted to make some bread and for some reason it didn't rise.  It got me thinking about beer batter bread, so I looked around online and mostly saw recipes that required self-rising flour which we don't have on hand.  I created this recipe from a bunch of recipes found online.  The results were delicious and the first loaf was gone before we could finish a couple episodes of 30 Rock.  Tasted perfect with the french onion soup I improvised.

The great thing about this bread is that it can be whipped up in no time, and the variations are endless!  The first loaf I made I added 1.5 cups shredded aged cheddar, 1/2 teaspoon Penzey's Chesapeake Bay Seafood Seasoning (Old Bay), & used Penzey's Shallot Salt in place of regular.  The bread baked perfectly, but it was a bit too much cheese, so I'd cut back to only one cup.  I'd like to try it with other cheeses, maybe a smoked gouda or gruyere.  It worked great with Blue Moon's White Wheat Ale, though I'm sure most varieties are fine, save for stouts which have a lot of nitrogen and might not rise as well.

Another option would be to use brown sugar in place of white and maybe bump it up to 1/4 cup for a sweeter bread.  You can also substitute up to two of the cups of flour with whole wheat.

Super Easy Beer Bread

• 3 cups all-pourpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt (regular or flavored)
  
• 12 oz. beer room temperature
  
• 2 tablespoons butter
  

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Sift together dry ingredients.
3. Pour entire bottle of beer in with dry ingredients and combine just until flour is moistened.  Do not over-mix.
   
4. Grease a standard loaf pan & transfer dough; dot the top with butter.
   
5. Bake 35-40 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.