Do you ever find that perfect meal that the whole family loves and yet so easy to throw together? That meal is soup and beer bread in our family. In the fall and winter I love doing a simple soup in the crock pot and a loaf of beer bread. It's so simple and easy to make and it is so filling.
I started buying the beer bread kits at Trader Joe's years ago. Just pour a beer in and stir, it was that easy. So, I completely panicked when they stopped selling the kits. Thank goodness one of the workers was kind enough to give me her recipe. It is absolutely amazing, crunchy and buttery on the outside with a soft inside.
You only need four ingredients. Self rising flour, can of beer, sugar, and some melted butter. You can use any kind of beer for the bread. I have also used non-alcoholic beer and it has turned out just fine.
Start by combining 3 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of sugar together in a large bowl.
Slowly pour in can of beer. Stir until it is mixed well. It will be really sticky at this point.
Pour into a greased bread loaf pan. Put 1/4 cup butter in a microwave safe container and microwave until melted. Pour butter over the beer bread batter.
Bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees. Serve warm with butter on top.
This beer bread is so simple to make. With only a few minutes in the kitchen you can can turn a bowl of soup into a full meal.
Beer Bread
3 cups self rising flour (I recommend White Lily brand)
1/2 cup sugar
1 can beer (any brand is fine)
1/4 cup butter, melted
Combine 3 cups of self rising flour and 1/2 cup of sugar together in a large bowl. Slowly pour in can of beer. Stir until it is mixed well. Pour into a greased bread loaf pan. Put 1/4 cup butter in a microwave safe container and microwave until melted. Pour butter over the beer bread batter. Bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees or until a golden brown on top and baked throughout.
Maria says
Hey! I live really far away from stores and have no self rising flour. Is there any way to substitute all purpose flour and yeast in place of the self rising flour?
Julie says
Yes, you can combine 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt for every 1 cup of flour that you need in a recipe. I hope that helps.
Tara says
This is awesome thank you! I used to sell tastefully temple which sells the kit where you only add beer, but I love making things from scratch! Did you know you can any type of carbonated drink...I would sometimes switch out a darker porter beer with some cherry Coke and it will taste like cherry chocolate bread 🙂
Julie says
Sounds yummy! I will have to try that sometime. Thanks!
Sarah@TheOrthodoxMama says
I am definitely trying this. Pinning for future reference!
Julie says
Thank You!
Robert Leutwiler says
btw, I am listening to the hits by Van Morrison but prefer the long versions. Great music for while you are cooking or blogging. Yours, Robert
Robert Leutwiler says
If I may,- I find that lately perhaps since there are many Italian people in Ct,- I am making Italian sauces, salads, sandwiches, etc. and certain combinations are nearly fool proof. First, to drink mild fruit juices + ginger ale or other mild sodas + water, perhaps and/or cinnamon, nutmeg (with care, ginger, etc.) and of course ice if desired or hot with tea. then for the appetizer or meal:
First, capers, artichokes; Italian or Greek dressing; lettuce, mild cheese and/or a sprinkling of parmesan;, meats such as salami, pepperoni or other that have names we don't even know; even fine roast beef, turkey, chicken but nothing too weird
(you don't need truffles and who can find or afford them, not even uni.)
Lately I mixed something like the above with Minestrone and ate it cold then later reheated it with leftover Japanese beef, noodles and rice. Delicious!
Jim says
This looks like a lot of fun to make (and easy). I've been experimenting with bread baking recently since it's so simple yet so hard in some cases, this one seems like it's simple and easy at the same time. Thanks for sharing it!
Julie says
It's definitely an easy one to make and very hard to screw up. I love making bread, but your right. Some tend to be more difficult. I have a hard time with french bread.
Jim says
I think I'm just impatient and baking is not for the impatient. It's for the exacting. 🙂
Robert Leutwiler says
Just think how impossible these recipes and explaining them would be if we were illiterate. Way back before the invention of writing people could not have even imagined the idea of a recipe or much less the Internet.
It strikes me that recipes have to be very precise since a little too much spice, acid or citrus might throw off the balance and taste and could even be dangerous. Also thinking and technology had to improve before people (cave men) could even try agriculture and develop plants through experimentation.
Probably many poisoned themselves more or less. Without printing you could not duplicate ideas or drawings and/or instructions since monks copied the manuscripts and would make errors usually unintentionally.
Now the point is that I like recipes which are so fool-proof that you don't even have to talk about exact quantities. For example this morning I made (green tea with ginger) and added a cinnamon stick, nutmeg, almond extract (very little) and honey. In this case the nutmeg could overpower other ingredients but otherwise not much can go wrong.
Then I made a powerful protein shake because I had run hard. So, one could omit part of this or keep the portions small. Whey powder, hot fudge (delicious but obviously fattening), vanilla/choc./Strawberry ice cream with chopped nuts. ( I could have added an egg and/or other sauces (caramel) but that would be overkill.)
cheers, RKL