Beer Bread
The ‘in’ trend on food blogs right now food that’s geared towards the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day. In keeping up with the Joneses (as I am SOMEtimes inclined to do) I decided to throw in my own contribution to the holiday (even if I don’t do a single thing to celebrate it) with this recipe. But first things first: the trivia. Because I love my holiday trivia:
1. Your odds of finding a four-leaf clover are about 1 in 10,000. (I used to try and do this all the time when I was little. I was convinced that if I could find a four leaf clover the stars would align and my life would be perfect.)
2. Corned beef and cabbage isn’t a traditional Irish dish. It’s just about as Irish as spaghetti and meatballs. (Eh, I don’t care for the dish much anyway.)
3. St. Patrick’s Day used to be a dry holiday. Today’s booze-bags look to the holiday as a great excuse to start drinking Guinness at 9 AM. Until 1970, however, all pubs in Ireland were closed in observance of St. Patrick’s Day. (I’m not a drinker, but this still amuses me.)
4. March 17th is the day St. Patrick died.
5. St. Patrick’s color is blue.
Have any of you guys ever found a recipe that really helped you fake the funk in the kitchen? No, this doesn’t have anything to do with smells or odors. By the ‘fake the funk’, I mean giving the appearance of something as grand or spectacular, when in reality, it may not be as grand or as spectacular it manages to come off to be. People do it all the time in general, and I’m willing to admit that I can be one of them. My favorite way of doing it through is in the kitchen. I love putting something together that was actually very easy to make, then be complimented effusively because it seems and tastes like it was something that required a whole lot of skill and time. It’s kinda like a private joke that I can be privy to by myself. It also gives a lot of t.l.c. to my ego.
This bread is definitely a ‘fake the funk’ recipe. Not only does it have that ‘artisan’ bread taste, texture and look, but you guys wouldn’t believe how easy it is to really put together. I think this loaf was in the oven ten minutes after I took out all the ingredients, Then about forty minutes later, it was finished. Bada-bing, bada-boom. To the person that’d never made beer bread or soda bread before, it probably looks like I had to put in a great deal of effort for this loaf- just look at that golden, crusty exterior and soft, tender inside. Great stuff, huh?
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Beer Bread
Recipe Courtesy of USA Weekend
CLICK HERE FOR PRINTABLE VERSION
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 12 ounces beer
- 1 egg, beaten
Directions
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
3. Add beer (no sips!) and stir with a fork until just combined. Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead quickly to form a ball.
4. Place bread on a greased baking sheet and confidently slit an X on top with a serrated or very sharp knife.
5. Brush loaf with egg wash. Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve.
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I love beer breads and this one looks great!
I think you have missed a few ounces in the beer measurement?
omg, YES! Thank you for pointing that out- I’ve fixed it now. It’s definitely supposed to be 12 lol
YUM! I would love a slice of this right now. Beer bread sounds like my perfect snack today…
It does make a really great snack- thanks Lisa 🙂
9am??! To start drinking at 9am, we’d have to stop drinking before 9am too! It’s a bank holiday for a good reason!!
At my college alma mater on Saturdays where we had our football games, students on campus would get up even earlier to start drinking. They took St. Patrick’s Day VERY seriously at my school- it was kinda ridiculous at times.
Ha ha ha… love it!
AWESOME photos Jess!! AWESOME recipe!! I want a piece of this. Right now. I want a piece. Fresh out of the oven. With gobs of butter. Who needs a four leaf clover when you have this beer bread? Not this girl! I’m laughing at your “fake the funk” thing… hahahaha!
Thanks Prudy, and yes. I really think you do want some 😉
Reblogged this on Cooking Up a Storm With Miss Polly and commented:
Here is an awesome beer bread from the blog Cooking Is My sport….having trouble typing caps on my phone folks since my left arm and most of my fingers are in a cast.
Polly Motzko
I shared your great recipe on Cooking Up a Storm with miss Polly.
Polly Motzko
Hi Polly, THANK YOU! I appreciate you sharing my post 😀
Mmm that looks great! Love the glossy colour of it.
Thank you- it’s the egg wash that gives it that lovely shine 🙂
Great loaf!
Thank you 🙂
Oh, I am going to make this! Looks so good!
I wish you would: it takes about 1 hour from start to finish, and is soooo worth it 🙂
I knocked out a really simple soda bread on Sunday, so I will definitely do this! And the hubs loves beer, so this will be win-win! 😀
Your beer bread looks wonderful! I like that you didn’t put it in a loaf tin. The odd shaped bread is rustic. My boyfriend and I had a phase where we tried different kinds of beer and cider to make easy bake bread. We stopped when we noticed the effect on our waistlines.
Haha, I like the sound of that experiment 😉