Rosemary cheese bread offers the spongy texture of a savoury quick bread, without exerting any great effort whatsoever.
Stay away from the dark, bitter beers, as they will cast a dark, bitter taste upon the bread
If you’re like me, you love a good slice of bread. Slathered with butter, even better. I’m also more likely to hit up my favourite bakeries for their impeccable loaves of all things gluten than to bake bread at home. Don’t get me wrong — I love transforming flour, water, and yeast into something delicious, but I don’t always have the inclination or time to do so. Recently, I’ve discovered the wonders of beer bread. By wonders, I mean the yeasty taste and spongy texture of a savoury quick bread, without exerting any great effort whatsoever. All of that magic takes place within one bowl. No stand-mixer, or dough hook required. The most important part of a good beer bread, is of course, the beer. While you might be tempted to hit up your favourite microbrewery for a growler of their finest ale, go ahead but you’d be best to sip it than bake with it. In other words, you don’t need a super fancy beer for this bread. In fact, it’s best to stay on the mild side. If you find yourself with a lone can of Great Western in the back of the fridge, that would be just fine. Not a big beer drinker myself, the chance of finding random cans of lager in my fridge are next to zero, so I just hit up my nearest and dearest liquor store. Again, going with nothing fancy, I picked up a can of Stella Artois, but anything pale will work. It’s best to stay away from the dark, bitter beers, as they will cast a dark, bitter taste upon the bread, and you don’t want that. Assembling the bread takes mere minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Stir together the dry ingredients and pour in the beer. Give it a good stir and scrape it into the loaf pan. That’s really all the technique involved. You likely won’t need all of the beer, so a few sips remain for you. I bet you’re loving this recipe already. Bake for about 40 minutes, then pour melted, salted butter over the bread. Bake again, so the butter goes nicely into all of the crevices, then remove from the oven and let it cool. The smells emanating from the loaf are heavenly: beer, butter, yeast and cheese. The hardest part is waiting for the bread to cool so you can cut it, but once you do, you’ll be rewarded with a slice of deliciousness. The texture is nice and springy, with a good bit of chew. The butter, oh the butter, makes a lovely crust. There may be arguing over who gets the end pieces, just a word of caution. Fantastic with warm and hearty soups and stews, but also quite lovely when toasted with butter and jam for the next morning’s breakfast, this beer bread is versatile and super easy. It will for sure go into heavy baking rotation in my house (yes, that means more beer in the fridge) and I’m looking forward to trying other add-ins such as minced garlic, pinches of chili flakes and smoked paprika, and using honey instead of sugar. For an easy-to-make quick bread that is simple to make and delicious to eat, this loaf really can’t be beat.
ROSEMARY CHEDDAR BEER BREAD
■ Canola oil, for greasing the pan
■ 3 cups (750 ml) all-purpose flour
■ 1 cup (250 ml) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
■ 2 tbsp (30 ml) granulated sugar
■ 1 tbsp (15 ml) baking powder
■ 2 tsp (10 ml) finely chopped fresh rosemary
■ 1 tsp (5 ml) salt
■ 2 cups (500 ml) pale beer
■ 1/4 cup (65 ml) salted butter, melted
1. Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Grease a 9x5-inch (23x13-cm) loaf pan and line it with parchment paper so that the edges overhang. 2. Add the flour, cheese, sugar, baking powder, rosemary, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Stir well with a wooden spoon. Pour in the beer and stir to mix until it is evenly incorporated. You likely won’t use all of the beer. I had a satisfactory batter with two tablespoons (30 ml) of beer leftover. Drink up! 3. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes. 4. Pour the melted butter evenly over the bread and bake for another 13-15 minutes, until the top is golden brown and most of the butter has been absorbed. 5. Remove the bread from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and let it cool completely before slicing. 6. Best served the day it’s made, but also makes fantastic toast. Makes one large loaf. Note: Optional add-ins: 2 tsp (10 ml) finely chopped fresh thyme or sage, 1 tbsp (15 ml) minced fresh garlic, substitute 2 tbsp (30 ml) liquid honey for the sugar, substitute Gruyère for the cheddar, add a pinch of red-pepper flakes or smoked paprika.