Last week while browsing through Pinterest and Instagram, I came across the completely new to me concept of beer bread. Long story short: you make bread with beer. Despite my love of baking and basic chemistry knowledge, I was fascinated that this is something that exists, and that it is easy to make. Surprisingly all of the ingredients were already in my refrigerator and I got started on trying this baking experiment.
I'm not entirely sure of the chemistry behind it, but my loose understanding of beer bread making is that when yeast (from the beer) meets up with the baking powder and the starches in the flour, the dough starts to rise and leaven. There's no kneading involved or having to wait for yeast to rise, so this is really easy to make, plus its fun to watch the dough start to bubble and foam when you pour in the beer!
How You Make It
What You'll Need:
3 Cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
12 fluid ounces (your typical glass bottle) of beer, I used Sweetwater Whiplash.
What To Do:
Set your oven to 375°. In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt and stir them together well. Slowly pour in the beer and mix it into the batter while being amazed by the science happening in front of your eyes! Pour the mixture into a greased 8"x4" baking pan and bake for 45-55 minutes. Poke with a toothpick to see if your bread is done. If the toothpick comes out clean, your bread is ready.
I baked this late at night, so I don't have any good pictures of the making process to share. The beer I used is a seasonal brew from Sweetwater, a Belgian IPA, but you can use any beer that you have available.
The bread came out delicious, and I can't wait to eat more of it and try other variations on the recipe. Next week I'm planning to try it with rosemary and other herbs from my rooftop garden. Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures of the making process next time!
Hat tip to the blog Farm Girl Fare for showing me what to do!