Beer Bread

Let me just start by saying, this beer bread is REALLY good!  I don't think I've actually ever made beer bread before, but we had some good beer in the house and this recipe looked so easy and quick so I decided to make it on a whim.  This is a quick bread so it uses baking powder instead of yeast, which was great because I checked my yeast in the fridge and of course it was expired.

I will say that I had my doubts when I first put it into the oven because it looked too buttery (you pour butter on top before you bake) and I wasn't sure if it would really rise up and be big and fluffy, but sure enough when the timer went off, I opened the oven and it looked perfect :)  It tasted perfect too - the flavor of the beer was subtle, and it was so moist.  You should serve it hot out of the oven because that's when it will taste the best.  I did have a little leftover the next day and it was okay, but not even close to how it tasted the night before.  I found this recipe on another fabulous blog called Erza Pound Cake.  Try this - you won't be dissapointed!

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 bottle (12 ounces) beer (I used a bottle of Goose Island Honkers Ale - use the good stuff, I don't think miller or bud would cut it in this recipe)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, grated (I added this to the original recipe to make it a little cheesy)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients except for the beer and the butter.

Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer into the bowl with the dry ingredients until just mixed.

Pour half of the melted butter into a loaf pan, then spoon the batter into the pan, then pour the other half of the butter on top of the batter.  Slide a baking sheet onto a lower rack to catch any butter that might overflow (I thought about skipping this because I didn't think I would need it, but a little butter did overflow so definitely put the pan underneath).

Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden brown, and serve immediately.