Buttery Beer Bread

Before you start

Beer bread is a no-yeast loaf: flour, a little sugar, baking powder, salt and one bottle of beer, stirred into a thick batter and baked. The carbonation and baking powder lift the loaf, while the beer adds a faint malty, yeasty flavor that makes it taste more like a yeast bread than its five minutes of mixing would suggest. Melted butter poured over the top before baking soaks into the surface and fries it into a craggy, golden crust.

The beer you choose sets the flavor. A mild lager or wheat beer gives a gentle, bready loaf; an amber ale or stout tastes darker and slightly bitter; very hoppy IPAs can turn harsh as the bitterness concentrates. Use beer at room temperature and stir only until the flour is moistened, because overmixing knocks out the bubbles and toughens the crumb.

Ingredients

• 375 g (3 cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar — or 2 tbsp for a less sweet loaf
• 1 tbsp (12 g) baking powder
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 355 ml (12 oz) beer — one bottle or can, at room temperature
• 55 g (4 tbsp) unsalted butter — melted, divided

Method

1. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F) with a rack in the center. Brush the loaf pan with about 1 tablespoon of the melted butter.
2. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl until evenly mixed.
3. Pour in the beer. It will foam. Stir with a wooden spoon just until no dry flour remains; the batter will be thick, sticky and lumpy, more like a stiff drop-biscuit dough than a cake batter.
4. Scrape the batter into the pan and push it into the corners without smoothing it too much. A rough top gives more crunchy edges.
5. Pour the remaining melted butter evenly over the batter. Some will pool at the edges; that helps the sides crisp.
6. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until the top is deep golden and crusty and a skewer in the center comes out clean. The middle should read about 93 to 96°C (200 to 205°F).
7. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the loaf out onto a rack. Slice thickly with a serrated knife once it has cooled for at least 20 minutes.

Tips for success

• Measure the flour by weight or by spooning it into the cup. Packed cups can add 60 g or more and turn the loaf dry and dense.
• Opening the beer a few minutes ahead is fine, but do not let it go flat for hours; some carbonation helps the rise.
• For a softer top, brush the butter on after baking instead of pouring it over the raw batter.

Substitutions

All-purpose flour, baking powder and salt

Use 375 g (3 cups) self-rising flour and leave out the baking powder and salt. Self-rising flour is softer, so the loaf is more tender and a bit paler.

Beer

Non-alcoholic beer works and tastes nearly the same. Soda water with 1 tablespoon honey makes a lighter, sweeter loaf without the malty flavor.

Granulated sugar

Honey or brown sugar adds a deeper, slightly caramel flavor and browns faster; tent with foil if the top darkens before 45 minutes.

Variations

Cheddar and chive beer bread

Fold 100 g grated sharp cheddar and 3 tablespoons chopped chives into the batter and cut the sugar to 2 tablespoons.

Everything-bagel topping

Skip pouring all the butter on top; brush with 2 tablespoons and sprinkle with 1½ tablespoons everything-bagel seasoning before baking.

Troubleshooting

Loaf tastes bitter

A strongly hopped beer concentrates in the oven. Choose a lager, wheat beer, amber ale or stout, and keep the sugar at the full amount if you use a bitter beer.

Center is doughy

Underbaking, often in a glass pan. Bake until a skewer comes out clean and the center reads at least 93°C (200°F); add 5 to 10 minutes in glass or ceramic.

Dense and tough crumb

The batter was overmixed or the flour was packed. Stir only until moistened and measure by weight.

Storage

Keep cooled beer bread wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days. The crust softens after the first day; refresh slices in a toaster or hot skillet. Freeze sliced bread, well wrapped, for up to 3 months.

Safety notes

Baking evaporates much of the alcohol, but some can remain, and the amount varies with time and loaf size. Use non-alcoholic beer if anyone eating the bread avoids alcohol. Beer contains barley and wheat flour contains gluten.