honey beer bread
November 19th, 2009
Every time we throw a party, it seems that leftover beer is always left as a little thank-you gift in our kitchen. Which would be a delightful little surprise — except that (as I’ve mentioned before), my roomie and I are not beer-drinkers. I’ve just never gotten into the taste+carbonation, and she’s an uber-serious runner and pretty much always sticks to water. So day after day this month, we’ve walked by this nice little 6-pack from a favorite local brewery, wondering what will become of it.
And then one day, we were both in the kitchen talking about what we were planning to cook the next day, and the answer was the same (surprise!) — beer bread! :) Ah, the fun of living with another baker. So sure enough, our house has been filled with the unbelievable smell of freshly-baked bread this month. Maybe not what our friends intended…but I’m all for it!
We all ended up loving this recipe as well. The buttery, honey-wheat goodness is absolutely delicious — especially fresh from the oven. And the batter literally takes less than 5 minutes to prepare. What could be more simple??
So to all of you beer-drinkers and/or beer-bakers out there, I say….bring on the bread!!! :)
Honey Beer Bread Recipe
(Adapted from Ezra Pound Cake)
Ingredients:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. honey or agave nectar
- 1 bottle (12 ounces) beer
- 4 Tbsp. (half stick) butter, melted (**You can double this if you’d like**)
Method:
(Makes 1 loaf)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9″ x 5″ x 3″ inch loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed. (I recommend popping your honey in the microwave for a few seconds beforehand to make it easier to stir in!)
Pour half the melted butter into the loaf pan. Then spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter. (Use a pastry brush to spread it around if you’d like.)
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve immediately.
Ali’s Tip:
If you’re a big fan of beer-cheese bread, add a cup or so of cheddar (or your favorite cheese) into the batter to give it the queso-kick. :)
Is the dough supposed to be all goopy and lumpy? Making this now and have it in the oven, I added a bit more flour to the dough because it was a wet sopping mess :(
Also why is the butter put at the bottom of the loaf pan vs. in the dough?
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Had a friend make this and recommend your recipe. Do you think subbing whole wheat flour for some of the 3 C all purpose would be OK?
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i make this all the time for my husband, but i use 3 cups of self rising flour so i dont need to use the baking powder, and i use brown sugar instead of white, and i have added italian seasoning(dry packet) or spinch dip(dry pkg) or french onion(dry) or garlic ceddar, all are very good!
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amazing! not only did this make my entire apartment smell amazing, but I dare say its the most delicious this ive ever made. wow.
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Eating this now. Love the texture of the bread, moist and dense—-delicious! Used Bud light because we had it, definitely will try with a honey wheat some time.
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I made this bread today and it was delicious! I used a bottle of yuengling. The bread was so moist and buttery. My husband and I ate half the loaf in one sitting.
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@ Ben: no, you can’t refrigerate the batter. Quick breads like this one depend on the chemical reaction of baking soda + moisture to rise, so once you mix the batter, it’s a ticking clock (unlike yeast dough, which can chill in the fridge for a considerable amount of time). If you let it sit until the reaction is over, it won’t rise in the oven.
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Looking forward to trying this. Looks delicious:-)
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Yay – A beer bread that is not dry! This turned out beautifully! I used Pacifico beer because I have a case that never made it to a friend over the holidays, and we won’t drink it. I also added a cup of cheddar cheese, which adds great flavor. I cut the sugar in half. I might add some dried dill next time. I used my Kitchen Aid to make the dough which made the prep super fast and easy. Looks like that case of Pacifico will be put to good use! Thanks for the recipe!
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mmmmmmmmmmmmm
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I just put this bread in the oven….the only thing I didn’t do is “spoon” the batter in to the loaf pan. I hope that isn’t going to make a bad difference. The only beer I had on hand was a dark creamy beer. Crossing my fingers for a decent turn out!!!
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Ok…just out of the oven. Very crunchy crust….very buttery flavor. Good with honey spread on top. Anxious to hear my hubby’s review.
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Wow! Loved the bread! I used whole
Wheat and brown sugar. Doubled the butter
Happy Valentines too me !thanks
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Okay so I just made this bread and pulled it out and had a slice, so here’s my thoughts on my loaf:
I used a pale ale and I can still taste it a bit, I would definitely use a less dry beer than the one I chose.
I did double the butter and I think it’s WAY TOO MUCH. Next time only using the half stick.
I added a cup of shredded sharp cheddar and I don’t really notice it over the beer flavor and butter.
SO next time, less butter, sweeter ale, no cheese!
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This sounds awesome and easy. I’ll try it tonight.
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This bread turned out awesome! Just like the picture looked and very, very tasty!
Thank you!
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I just got done making some TS beer bread for a gathering tomorrow. I ate one slice and am wanting to eat the whole loaf! So I decided I had better find a recipe so I can make more for myself to keep. This one looks/sounds delish (LOVE the idea of using honey!) and I can’t wait to try it! I always use BudLight with the TS box beer bread and it turns out SO good! Our local brewery has a honey beer that I think I will try with your recipe, as I think they would compliment each other nicely. Thanks!!!
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LOVED the honey beer bread!!! My family loved it as well!! It will definitely be a GO TO recipe for me!! Why? Because it’s EASY and turned out GREAT the first time!!!
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I love this recipe. Have made it many times. Today I’m baking up a batch using Sam Adams Cherry Wheat Ale, and upping the sugar to 1/2 cup. I’ve made this before and it’s soooo yummy (the Sam Adams Blueberry ale makes really great bread, too). I think I’m going to try brown sugar this time, instead of white. I was trying to think of some good mix-ins for this sweet bread though, and I’m not really coming up with anything. Any ideas?
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Has anyone compared this to Tastefully Simple’s Beer Bread? I know with their you an make it hundreds of ways (with and without beer). Just curious if it is similar at all.
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Yum. Just made this using Shock Top Raspberry Wheat beer and it is soooo good.
Ashley, yes, I used to buy the Tastefully Simple beer bread mix, now I use this recipe and it tastes the same but is so much cheaper!
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I made this For Easter today and I used Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat Beer, I followed the directions exactly and it came out delicious!
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