Beer Bread-No Yeast No Knead Dairy-free Egg-free Quick Bread

I have been on a baking spree baking cakes and cupcakes and the Geek finally rebelled saying that my baking was going to give him diabetes. So I decided to turn to baking bread and have been thumbing thorough some cook books including 'Baking with Julia' and trying to decide between the 'Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day' method or the No-Knead Bread by Lahney. But most of these definitely simple recipes still seemed to require a bit of commitment of time and tools I didn't have, until I found this easy, almost absurdly simple and too-good-to-be-true recipe for Beer Bread.


(Update: I have since this post gotten over my fear of yeast and made and love the Brioche bread from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Check out my beautiful apple, cinnamon and brown sugar filled braided bread here I am now a bread fanatic!)


Immediately bells began to ring and I ran to George the grocer's little store and asked him for one single bottle of ale- "To make bread" I explained while he looked at me puzzled.


With the world cup quarter finals tomorrow-what could be a better snack for the football obsessed than beer bread? This is one easy and tasty bread that has the flavor of the beer and requires no yeast, no raising, kneading and all that mess.
I added some garlic powder and oregano for some extra yuminess. The crust is crispy and the insides soft and springy as all good bread should be. Still can't get over how easy this is- Just mix, pour, bake!Can all be done in just one dish too

Beer Bread

Recipe source: Gerald Norman on Recipezaar from here

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour (sifted- make sure to sift else bread will be hard)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
• 1 teaspoon salt (omit if using Self-Rising Flour)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 (12 ounce) can beer 9 recommend using either stout like Guinness or ale )
• 1/4 cup melted butter or olive oil ( I used oil olive)
• I also added 1 tsp garlic powder and 1 tsp oregano-optional

Method

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Mix dry ingredients and beer.
• Pour into a greased loaf pan.
• Pour melted butter/olive oil over mixture.
• Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes. If you don't remove it and keep the bread in the pan the bottom may get soggy.

Below are some helpful notes by Gerald : 

This recipe makes a very hearty bread with a crunchy, buttery crust. If you prefer a softer crust (like a traditional bread) mix the butter into the batter instead of pouring it over the top.

Sifting flour for bread recipes is a must-do. Most people just scoop the 1 cup measure in the flour canister and level it off. That compacts the flour and will turn your bread into a "hard biscuit". That's because they aren't sifting their flour! 

If you do not have a sifter, use a spoon to spoon the flour into the 1 cup measure.

If using non alcoholic beverages then add a packet of Dry Active Yeast or 2 teaspoons of Bread (Machine) Yeast so that you get a proper rise.

Put a baking sheet or tray under the dish so that any butter that bubbles over doesn't spill onto the oven floor and catch fire.

Verdict:

Hic! The beer taste in the bread was prominent and I loved it even thought I don't even like beer! I halved the ingredients as I wasn't sure I'd like it so my bread was quite small and was all gone in seconds. Next time I will double it and make two full loves as everyone loved it and tore off chunks of this soft bread with a crunchy top.You don't have to like football or even beer to love this, whether you are making it or eating it.

Take it along for the next tailgate party and you will be the star!