Herbed Beer Bread
September 30, 2010 in Uncategorized
The one thing I hate about football season is all the leftover beer in my fridge. It seems like every weekend someone’s leaving beer here and since neither Spencer or I drink much, it just sits there until the next time that person comes over. That’s how this bread came about. I needed to free up some space and I also wanted some tasty bread to gnaw on.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with beer bread. It seems like I’ve always heard people say that it rises a lot, just like a regular yeast bread, but mine stayed pretty small. My biggest cooking pet peeve is a quick bread recipe that ends up being half as tall as the loaf pan. This one did just that but it was really hard to be mad at it.
The bread was awesome. There’s no beer-y taste. I used a cheap beer – I think it was Coors Light – and was worried that it would ruin the bread but like I said, no beer taste at all. The herbs were subtle but delicious. And the best part? The sunflower seeds. I love, love, love seedy bread and this was just perfect.
- 2 cups (8½ ounces) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (2⅝ ounces) whole wheat flour
- ½ cup (2ₖ ounces) semolina flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons (1 ounce) sugar
- 1 12-ounce bottle of beer
- 3 tablespoons (1 ounce) vegetable oil
- ¾ cup (3½ ounces) hulled sunflower seeds
- 1 teaspoon each: dried parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add the beer and oil and stir until the batter is evenly moistened. Stir in the sunflower seeds and herbs, then pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the bread for 45 minutes, until a tested inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove it from the oven and cool it in the pan for 15 minutes on a rack. Run a dull knife around the edge of the bread and turn it out of the pan to finish cooling.
from The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion
Looks delicious! I love beer bread, but we never seem to have any beer in the house to make it!
.-= megan @ whatmegansmaking´s last blog ..Lovethrough food redefining my purpose =-.
That looks so good! Too bad we never have beer around…I am also beginning to think I need to go get that book you keep using for all of these breads!
.-= Pam´s last blog ..A Cheesy Giveaway! =-.
I’d love to use this idea for a yeast bread. The beer would definitely help it to rise and give it a sourdough flavour.
.-= Samantha Angela @ Bikini Birthday´s last blog ..You can’t tell me what to eat! =-.
I’ve baked a yeasted beer bread today. It’s wonderful, beer really helps it to rise a lot. But didn’t taste any sourdough flavour at all… All in all it’s delicious and I liked it =)
I love beer bread and have put cheddar in it but never seeds! I have to try that next time!!
.-= natalie (the sweets life)´s last blog ..Pomegranate Banana Bread =-.