The other day I was catching up on what other foodies had been up to lately and saw this post from Maggie at Dog Hill Kitchen: Beer Bread Experiments and some Bean Salad. Beer bread. Hmm. At first it just sounded interesting but I’d never had it before and the recipe looked super-easy so I could not shake the curiosity. Beer bread? How does it taste? What’s the texture? And then last night it won and I baked up my very first loaf of beer bread.
I used the recipe Maggie linked to from Zesty Cook, and a can of Murphy’s Irish Stout. I only had 1 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour on hand, so I used a little more white flour to make up the missing 1/4 cup (so used 1 1/4 cup wheat and 1 3/4 cup white instead of 1 1/2 of each called for in the recipe).
The bread smell was intoxicating. Nutty, buttery, bready. And the flavor matches the smell. It has a complex flavor and is really crumbly… and especially wonderful slathered in butter. I like Maggie’s idea of experimenting with different beers so I will be trying this recipe again sometime soon with an ale or lager. It is the easiest bread I’ve ever made; even easier than the No Knead Bread though the results are a different style. But if you love fresh bread half as much as I do, I recommend trying Zesty Cook’s beer bread.
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I made beer bread from a box yesterday (from a tastefully simple party) and used Newcastle. I’m glad you posted this because now I can make beer bread without the box!
I’m so glad you tried it! I’ve also done a brown ale and it was good but not quite as good as the stout. I hope you’ll let me know if you try any other beers that turn out better.
@Julie – I’m happy to help. Let me know how it turns out!
@Maggie – I will keep you posted on my beer trials :) D. loved this bread so I’m pretty sure I’ll be making more and soon. Thanks for posting the recipe link and your results!
I love beer bread and this looks like a great bread! I was craving some since this weekend. I think I will have to make this tonight!
I like seeing recipes with Murphy’s. We prefer it to Guinness around our house, and I bet it would rule in a bread, too.
Wow, sounds quite interesting..And looks delicious!
I am so glad you enjoyed the beer bread!!
Thanks Zesty, I made this again for St. Patrick’s Day this time with Guiness and it was even better. I’m not sure if the switch from Murphy’s to Guiness was the trick or something else (come to think of it, that Murphy’s had been in my fridge for a long time whereas the Guiness was new… ?), but it was perfect with the corned beef and cabbage. Thanks again for the recipe :)
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