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 bread with a buttery crust. It’s full of flavor and easy to make.
I am so excited to share this beer bread recipe with you. It’s super easy, requires no kneading or rising time, and is versatile. Even if you have never baked bread before, this recipe is for you. It doesn’t make sense. For a cheesy bread with strong beer, try our beer bread.
I love this bread with butter, honey, or, better yet, homemade bee butter. It’s also amazing with pumpkin butter and apple butter or served with a side of homemade chili.
Key Ingredients
- Self Raising Flour: Unlike all-purpose flour, self-raising flour adds baking powder and salt. Self-rising flour makes beer bread super easy, but you can use all-purpose if that’s all you have. For 3 cups of self-raising flour, whisk together 3 cups of all-purpose flour and 4 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon of salt.
- Sugar, Salt and Pepper: Granulated sugar balances the beer and helps make our bread soft. Then, we add a little salt and pepper to the bread that is completely soaked. (We only add a little salt, as self-rising flour has added salt.)
- Beer: You taste the beer used in this bread recipe, so use something you already enjoy. Lagers and pilsners are clean and clear, amber ales add a malty, sweet flavor, and stout beer tastes rich and bitter and adds color (which we use for this strong beer cheese bread). We recommend that you avoid really hoppy beers like IPAs and APAs, as their bitterness can be too strong for bread. Many beers are labeled with an IBU level, which shares how good the beer tastes.
- Butter: This beer bread calls for a large amount of butter, and I like it that way. You will put half of the butter on the bread and 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. A lot of cheese will work when making beer bread. We like Gruyère, sharp white cheddar, and Jarlsberg, but use what you like.
How to Make Beer Bread
If you can combine the ingredients in a bowl, you can make beer bread. The full recipe is below, but I’ll quickly walk you through the process here.
To begin, we will combine self-raising flour, sugar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Self raising flour is the secret to this recipe as you already have baking powder and a little salt mixed in. If you don’t have your own flour, I’ve included a DIY version in the recipe tips section below.
Now, pour in 12 ounces of beer (a whole can, for me) and melted butter. Then, combine that with your shredded cheese. The mixture will resemble a thick pancake batter rather than dough.
Spoon into the loaf pan, then add the melted butter on top. We will add melted butter later to encourage a golden brown, crispy, buttery crust! I have seen many recipes for beer bread that look white after baking. This trick of brushing melted butter on top while our bread is baking gives the perfect crust!
Easy Beer Bread
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PREP
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COOK
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TOTAL
This is my favorite beer bread recipe. It’s not messy and it’s easy to do. I love the golden brown and buttery crust and the soft, crunchy crumb inside. Serve this bread with butter, honey, bee butter, apple butter, pumpkin butter, soups, stews, or as an ingredient with cheese.
Make 1 loaf
You will need it
3 cups (390g) self-raising flour, see notes for setting
1/4 cup (50g) sugar
A good pinch of sea salt
4 twists of black pepper
12 ounces of beer, suggestions below
9 tablespoons (125g) butter, melted
1 ½ cups (5oz or 140g) grated cheese, such as 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 little melted butter.
2Sift the self-raising flour, sugar, salt, and pepper into a large mixing bowl.
3Pour the beer again part of 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, pressing lightly into an even layer.
6Brush the top with the remaining butter (reserve the butter to add later).
7Bake for 30 minutes, turn the pan in the oven, and brush with extra butter. Bake for another 10 minutes. Turn the pan again, stir in more butter, and bake for another 10 minutes.
8Brush with any remaining butter, and bake for 5 minutes. Total baking time is 55 minutes. If you get too much color or want to stop it from browning too much, cover the bread loosely with foil.
9The bread is fully baked when a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Transfer the bread pan to a cooling rack and cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Use a butter knife to round the edges, then gently open the pan to remove the bread. Rest for another 10 minutes before cutting.
Tips from Adam and Joanne
- To save: Store in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days. Otherwise, the bread will start to dry out. Or freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw the night before enjoying. I like frozen slices for each serving.
- Self-Growing Flour: Unlike all-purpose flour, self-raising flour adds baking powder and salt. For 3 cups of self-raising flour, whisk together 3 cups of all-purpose flour and 4 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon of salt.
- Butter: I love the salted butter in this recipe. To reduce salt, substitute unsalted.
- Beer suggestions: Avoid hoppy beers. In this recipe, we enjoy lagers, pilsners, amber ales, and stout beers.
- Leave the cheese: Cheese and butter make this bread very tasty, but you can leave out the cheese and make the recipe.
- The nutrition facts given below are estimates.
Food Per Serving
Serving Size
1 thick slice (assuming 12 total)
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Calories
228
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Perfect Oils
11.1g
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Saturated Fats
6.6g
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Cholesterol
29.7 mg
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Sodium
399 mg
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Carbohydrate
25.1g
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Dietary fiber
0.9g
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Total Sugar
3.7g
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Proteins
5.2g
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