This is a family recipe from my Uncle Pete. He was visiting one day back in the 1970s and said he made this bread, and reeled off the recipe. My sister grabbed a pencil and paper and wrote it down, and she's been making it ever since. I think I was away at college at the time, because I don't remember that at all! Fortunately it's been preserved, and now I'm passing it on to you!
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This bread is so easy to make!
I tend to make bread in my bread machine because I usually don't have a lot of time to do all the mixing, kneading, rising, resting, and baking. Okay, a lot of that is not hands-on time, but you still need to watch the clock and stop whatever else you're doing for the next step.
For some reason I never looked into quick breads. A quick bread doesn't use yeast to rise, it uses baking soda and/or baking powder. It doesn't have to go through the multiple rising and kneading stages. But I recently discovered no-knead bread recipes, so I'm going to try those too.
Quick breads can be savory, like Irish Soda Bread, or sweet, like the Banana Bread. They don't take long to make, and they bake quickly. That's probably why they're called quick breads!
And It's Versatile!
See how I adapted this recipe to make Ginger Beer and Root Beer Breads!
Ingredients You'll Need
- flour
- baking powder
- salt
- sugar
- beer
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use self-rising flour?
Yes, just leave out the baking powder and salt, those are what make the flour self-rising!
A quick recipe for making your own quick-rising flour is: whisk together 1 cup flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Now you don't need to keep a special bag of flour in the pantry!
What kind of beer should I use?
It depends on what kind of beer you like! If you use a lager, you'll get a lighter flavor of malted barley and hops. Red or brown ales will have a more pronounced flavor, and will give the bread a nice color. I prefer substantial brews like porter and stout, which have a slightly bitter flavor.
Whatever you do, don't use a light beer! You might as well not bother. (Not that I'm biased or anything.) You need to use a beer that's got some body and flavor.
Variations
The main thing you can do to change this recipe up is to use different kinds of beer. I used a chocolate and peanut butter porter, and I've got a long list of beers that I want to try. Including Guinness.
A Beer Joke
There's a big beer convention, and the heads of all the major breweries go out to dinner one night. The waiter asks what they would each like to drink. The head of Anheuser-Busch orders Budweiser, the head of Coors orders a Coors Light, and so on. When it comes to the head of Guinness, he orders a Coke. The others are shocked and ask why he didn't order a Guinness. He says, "Well, if none of you are drinking beer, I won't either!"
Quick! Make This Beer Bread!
Here are the ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar, and beer. I'm using a chocolate peanut butter porter. You can use self-rising flour and eliminate the baking powder and salt. That leaves you with just three ingredients! You can't get much simpler than that!
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and sugar to mix thoroughly, then pour in the beer. It's a happy fizzy party! (If you get that reference, you're probably as old as I am!)
Fold the batter with a spatula to mix the ingredients. The batter will be a bit lumpy and sticky.
Pour the batter into a greased bread pan and bake for 30 minutes at 400°F. A toothpick poked into the bread should come out clean.
Here's the bread right out of the oven. The hardest part of making this bread was waiting for it to bake. The aroma was intoxicating! And waiting for it to cool so I could slice it? Torture!
This bread is delicious, and it's wonderful buttered, with a cup of coffee or tea. My sister tells me that a tray of half slices of beer bread served with an herbed cheese spread like Alouette makes a great party platter. And it freezes well, too!
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📖 Recipe Card
Uncle Pete's Beer Bread
Special Equipment Needed
- 1 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 12 ounces beer room temperature
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Use a spatula to mix the ingredients. The batter will be slightly sticky/lumpy.3 cups flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, 12 ounces beer
- Transfer the batter to a loaf pan greased with butter. Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes. Insert a knife or toothpick into the center to check for doneness.
Nutrition Estimate
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