Easy Beer Bread: Here's How To Make It

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Make This Tasty Bread With As Little As Four Ingredients

You can make this easy beer bread with just self-rising flour, sugar, and beer. There’s no yeast, no kneading, and no rise time. It’s easy! It’s quick! You can make it in a bowl with a spoon and enjoy it in about an hour.

To make great beer bread, however, you need some butter. Most beer bread fans agree that the melted butter gives this fabulous bread its perfectly chewy, delicious crust.

Pour melted butter over the loaf and brush it all over the crust as soon as it comes out of the oven; let it soak in, then eat it warm. It’s great with soup! After the first round, it slices and toasts beautifully when the bread is cool.

You can use any beer you like. Light, bland, or a pale ale works great. Cheap beer works just as well as more expensive brews. The bread will have a yummy, malty, slightly sweet, and not-very-beery flavor. You can use a stout if you want, but the darker the beer, the more pronounced the beery taste will be.

Here’s How To Make A Yummy Loaf Of Easy Beer Bread

Whisk the sugar and self-rising flour in a medium mixing bowl, then pour in the lukewarm beer. The mixture will immediately get all excited when the yeast in the beer meets the sugar and baking powder in the self-rising flour. There will be lots of bubbles!

If you don’t have self-rising flour, you don't need to go to the store to buy any. There is an easy workaround! Add 4 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon of salt to three cups of all-purpose flour, whisk them together, then add the sugar and the beer.

Don’t overmix the batter. Stir just enough so no streaks of flour remain. Over-mixing will make the bread tough.

Grease a standard nine-by-five-inch loaf pan and lightly spoon the batter into the pan. No loaf pan? You can make this in a deep-dish pie pan, a nine-inch round, or an eight-inch square pan instead!

Use the spoon to gently level the batter, then slide the loaf into a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes; remove it from the oven and pour melted butter over the top as evenly as you can, then bake for about another ten minutes.

When you take the easy beer bread out of the oven, lay the loaf pan on its side and let it cool. If you like, add more melted butter to the finished loaf after removing it from the pan! As I researched this bread, I found some recipes that call for up to an entire stick of butter! I vote yes!

How To Add More Flavor To Easy Beer Bread

To change the flavor profile of beer bread, add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder or 2 teaspoons of a dried herb like rosemary or basil. Want it cheesy? Add about 2/3 cup of shredded or grated cheese like cheddar, pepper jack, or Parmesan!

Add a bit of the dried herb to the crust when you add it for a beautiful garnish! Beer bread is so quick and easy to make, you’ll want to play with variations and find your favorites!

How To Serve And Store Easy Beer Bread

For best results, use a serrated knife to slice beer bread. The crust is craggy and firm, but the middle is tender. I cut it into about twelve slices and hide the crispy ends for myself! Eat it warm with plenty more butter! This bread is especially delicious with soup!

When the bread is cool, you can slice it thinner. It makes wonderful toast. Double-wrap it in plastic film, then in aluminum foil, to freeze it for up to six months.

Don’t forget how welcome a loaf of beer bread can be for a hostess, a thank-you, or a welcome-to-the-neighborhood gift! Wrap it in a festive checked napkin or tea towel for an unforgettable presentation!

Here's a new trick my daughter discovered! She made this beer bread in a sheet pan, so it was flat. When it cooled, she cut it into fingers, making perfect dippers for our family's favorite Beer Cheese Dip! It was the hit of her party!

PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD

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Yield: 12 slices

Easy Beer Bread

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A quick and easy bread made with four ingredients, ready to eat in about an hour.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

• One 12-ounce bottle or can of beer at room temperature
• 3 cups of self-rising flour*
• 3 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted. Use more if you like but don't skip the butter!

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a 9" by 5" standard loaf pan.
3. Put the sugar and self-rising flour into a medium mixing bowl and whisk together.
4. Pour the lukewarm beer into the flour mixture and stir only to the point that no streaks of flour show; don't overmix.
5. Lightly spoon the batter into the loaf pan and level the top gently.
6. Bake for about 40 minutes.
7. Remove the bread from the oven and pour the melted butter over the bread as evenly as you can.
8. Return the bread to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes. The bread should sound hollow when you tap it.
9. If desired, you can pour more melted butter over the baked loaf after removing it from the pan.
10. Serve warm; use a serrated knife to slice the bread.
11. Allow the bread to cool completely before wrapping it for storage.
12. This bread freezes well.

Notes

*If you do not have self-rising flour, whisk the three cups of all-purpose flour, 4 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoons of salt. Mix all these ingredients well to distribute the baking powder and salt evenly within the flour.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 161Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 397mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 3g

This easy beer bread recipe is exceptionally good for how easy it is to make and perfect for the impatient or inexperienced bread baker! You may also love these bread recipes: Rustic Bread Loaf or Quick French Bread.

If you enjoyed a post, I'd love it if you would leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review or a comment. It really helps others find my recipes because you are exactly the kind of cooks I write for!

Love GB (Betty Streff)

Real food. Real kitchen. Real easy.

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