Easy Beer Bread
Our easy beer bread is the answer to homemade bread without the fuss! This simple recipe uses beer, cheese, and a few pantry ingredients to make a tasty and easy loaf with a delicious buttery crust. It’s full of flavor and so easy to make. I’m so excited to share this beer bread recipe with you. It’s super simple, doesn’t require kneading or rising time, and is versatile. Even if you’ve never baked a loaf of bread before, this recipe is for you. It’s foolproof. For a cheesy loaf with stout beer, try our stout beer bread. I love this bread with butter, honey, or, better yet, homemade honey butter. It’s also amazing with pumpkin butter and apple butter or served on the side of homemade chili. Key Ingredients Self-Rising Flour: Unlike all-purpose flour, self-rising flour adds baking powder and salt. Self-rising flour makes beer bread super easy, but you can use all-purpose if that is all you have. For 3 cups of self-rising flour, whisk 3 cups of all-purpose flour with 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Sugar, Salt, and Pepper: Granulated sugar balances the beer and helps make our loaf tender. Then, we add a bit of salt and pepper to the perfectly seasoned loaf. (We only add a little salt, as the self-rising flour does have salt added.) Beer: You do taste the beer used in this bread recipe, so use something you already enjoy the flavor of. Lagers and pilsners are clean and crisp, amber ales add a malty, sweet flavor, and stout beer tastes rich and bittersweet and adds color (which we use for this cheese stout beer bread). We recommend avoiding really hoppy beers like IPAs and APAs, as their bitterness can be too strong for the bread. Most beers label the IBU level, which shares how bitter the beer tastes. Butter: This beer bread calls for a generous amount of butter, and I love it that way. You’ll add half of the butter to the loaf and then brush the rest over the bread as it bakes, adding a delicious buttery crust. Cheese: This is optional, but I always add cheese to my beer bread. Most cheese will work when making beer bread. We love Gruyère, sharp white cheddar, and Jarlsberg, but use what you love. Self-Rising Flour: Unlike all-purpose flour, self-rising flour adds baking powder and salt. Self-rising flour makes beer bread super easy, but you can use all-purpose if that is all you have. For 3 cups of self-rising flour, whisk 3 cups of all-purpose flour with 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Sugar, Salt, and Pepper: Granulated sugar balances the beer and helps make our loaf tender. Then, we add a bit of salt and pepper to the perfectly seasoned loaf. (We only add a little salt, as the self-rising flour does have salt added.) Beer: You do taste the beer used in this bread recipe, so use something you already enjoy the flavor of. Lagers and pilsners are clean and crisp, amber ales add a malty, sweet flavor, and stout beer tastes rich and bittersweet and adds color (which we use for this cheese stout beer bread). We recommend avoiding really hoppy beers like IPAs and APAs, as their bitterness can be too strong for the bread. Most beers label the IBU level, which shares how bitter the beer tastes. Butter: This beer bread calls for a generous amount of butter, and I love it that way. You’ll add half of the butter to the loaf and then brush the rest over the bread as it bakes, adding a delicious buttery crust. Cheese: This is optional, but I always add cheese to my beer bread. Most cheese will work when making beer bread. We love Gruyère, sharp white cheddar, and Jarlsberg, but use what you love. How to Make Beer Bread If you can stir ingredients together in a bowl, you can make beer bread. The full recipe is below, but I’ll quickly walk you through the process here. To start, we’ll mix self-raising flour, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Self-raising flour is a secret in this recipe since it already has baking powder and a little salt mixed in. If you don’t have self-raising flour, I’ve included a DIY version in the tips section of the recipe below. Now, pour in 12 ounces of beer (a whole can, in my case) and some melted butter. Then, combine that with your shredded cheese. The mixture will resemble a thick pancake batter rather than dough. Spoon mixture into a loaf pan, and top with some melted butter. We’ll add more melted butter later to encourage a golden brown, crisp, buttery crust! I’ve seen many beer bread recipes that look almost white after baking. This trick of basting melted butter on top while our bread bakes gives the most beautiful crust! Easy Beer Bread PREP 10 mins COOK 55 mins TOTAL 1 hr 5 mins PREP 10 mins COOK 55 mins TOTAL 1 hr 5 mins This is my favorite recipe for beer bread. It’s no-knead and so easy to make. I love the golden-brown and buttery crust and the soft, tight crumb inside. Serve this bread with butter, honey, honey butter, apple butter, pumpkin butter, soups, stews, or as an appetizer with cheese. Makes 1 loaf You Will Need 3 cups (390g) self-rising flour, see notes for substitute 1/4 cup (50g) sugar Pinch fine sea salt 4 twists black pepper 12 ounces beer, suggestions below 9 tablespoons (125g) butter, melted 1 ½ cups (5oz or 140g) grated cheese, like white cheddar, Gruyère, or Jarslberg Directions 1Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and brush a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan with a bit of the melted butter. 2Whisk the self-rising flour, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. 3Pour in the beer and half of the melted butter. Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until well combined. The mixture will look like thick pancake batter. 4Fold in the cheese. 5Transfer the dough to the prepared loaf pan, lightly pressing it into an even layer. 6Brush the top with some of the remaining butter (leaving some butter for adding later on). 7Bake for 30 minutes, rotate the pan in the oven, and brush on more butter. Bake for another 10 minutes. Repeat by rotating the pan, brushing on more butter, and bake for another 10 minutes. 8Brush on any remaining butter, and bake for 5 minutes. A total bake time of 55 minutes. If you are getting too much color or want to stop the top from getting too brown, loosely tent the bread with foil. 9The bread is fully baked when a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. Transfer the loaf pan to a cooling rack and cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Use a butter knife to run around the edges, and gently turn the pan over to remove the loaf. Rest for another 10 minutes before slicing. 1Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and brush a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan with a bit of the melted butter. 2Whisk the self-rising flour, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. 3Pour in the beer and half of the melted butter. Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until well combined. The mixture will look like thick pancake batter. 4Fold in the cheese. 5Transfer the dough to the prepared loaf pan, lightly pressing it into an even layer. 6Brush the top with some of the remaining butter (leaving some butter for adding later on). 7Bake for 30 minutes, rotate the pan in the oven, and brush on more butter. Bake for another 10 minutes. Repeat by rotating the pan, brushing on more butter, and bake for another 10 minutes. 8Brush on any remaining butter, and bake for 5 minutes. A total bake time of 55 minutes. If you are getting too much color or want to stop the top from getting too brown, loosely tent the bread with foil. 9The bread is fully baked when a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached. Transfer the loaf pan to a cooling rack and cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Use a butter knife to run around the edges, and gently turn the pan over to remove the loaf. Rest for another 10 minutes before slicing. Adam and Joanne's Tips Storing: Store in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days. Beyond that, the bread will begin to dry out. Or freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before enjoying. I like freezing slices for individual servings. Self-Raising Flour: Unlike all-purpose flour, self-rising flour adds baking powder and salt. For 3 cups of self-rising flour, whisk 3 cups of all-purpose flour with 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Butter: I love salted butter in this recipe. To reduce the salt, substitute unsalted. Beer Suggestions: Avoid hoppy beers. For this recipe, we enjoy lagers, pilsners, amber ales, and stout beer. Leave out cheese: Cheese and butter make this bread super flavorful, but you can leave the cheese out and still make the recipe. The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. Storing: Store in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days. Beyond that, the bread will begin to dry out. Or freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before enjoying. I like freezing slices for individual servings. Self-Raising Flour: Unlike all-purpose flour, self-rising flour adds baking powder and salt. For 3 cups of self-rising flour, whisk 3 cups of all-purpose flour with 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Butter: I love salted butter in this recipe. To reduce the salt, substitute unsalted. Beer Suggestions: Avoid hoppy beers. For this recipe, we enjoy lagers, pilsners, amber ales, and stout beer. Leave out cheese: Cheese and butter make this bread super flavorful, but you can leave the cheese out and still make the recipe. The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. Nutrition Per Serving Serving Size 1 thick slice (assumed 12 total) / Calories 228 / Total Fat 11.1g / Saturated Fat 6.6g / Cholesterol 29.7mg / Sodium 399mg / Carbohydrate 25.1g / Dietary Fiber 0.9g / Total Sugars 3.7g / Protein 5.2g AUTHOR: Joanne Gallagher We’re Adam and Joanne, a couple passionate about cooking and sharing delicious, reliable recipes since 2009. Our goal? To inspire you to get in the kitchen and confidently cook fresh and flavorful meals.More About Us