Beer Bread Time

I've recently been getting into making beer breads. Here's what you need:

1 medium cast-iron skillet, lightly greased with oil
1 small cast-iron skillet or melting pot
1 mixing bowl
3 cups flour
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
12 oz. beer
1/4 stick butter

Pre-heat your oven and two pieces of cast iron to 375F.

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and your favorite 12 oz. domestic or imported beer. Mix these thoroughly until you have what appears to be dough. You can sprinkle flour onto the ball that you're going to form, or just let it look strange and exciting.

Carefully remove the hot medium skillet from the oven and put the dough ball in it. Put it back in the oven.

At the 42 minute mark, remove the small skillet from the oven and melt the 1/4 stick of butter in it. When it's melted, remove the medium skillet (and its contents), pour this melted butter all over the bread that's baking, and then return the medium skillet to the oven. You can take a paper towel and blot the butter in the small skillet and return it to the oven for another good layer of seasoning.

When you hit the one hour mark, your medium skillet and bread can be removed. I recommend you let it cool for a little bit before slicing in and enjoying. Again, clean out the skillet, grease it, and put it back in the hot oven. Turn the oven off and the residual heat should dry out the skillets sufficiently.

Some variations of this recipe include adding some spices to the dough and changing the variety of beer. You could make a cumin seed dough with a good hefeweizen, as an example, or perhaps a rye paired with pale ale.

Try it and comment on your variations!

Comments

my wife still asks me to make this bread

I still make this recipe on a semi-regular basis with a little more baking powder, and less salt.

I credit this recipe for getting my skillet re-seasoned and back into regular use in my kitchen.

scotch ale beer bread

scotch soda bread.

I used unbleached wheat flour and some homebrew scotch ale. tastes great. (but then what doesn't, baked in butter.)

I think the maltier brews do better in this setting. bocks, scotch / scottish ales, browns, hefeweissen, sweet stout, etc...

I think next I'll try a mild and mix in some cardamom. (: