This Beer Bread recipe is not only simple, but it is also out of this world delicious! Follow my tricks to make an out-of-this-world Beer Bread! I promise it will be the only recipe you will ever need!
Beer Bread
I made no less than 10 different beer bread recipes before coming back to the basics. This recipe is based on one my grandma made in the 1970’s using Schmidt’s beer. No one ever told me it had beer in it, and I certainly never asked! But I do remember it having the most amazing unique flavor that I never experienced at home. I always thought grandma just had a special magic when it came to baking. (Truth is, I think she does!)
Beer Options
We liked IPA beers the best, but here are our favorites:
Blue Moon Pacific Apricot Wheat
Pikes Peak Brewing Co. Elephant Rock IPA
One amazing thing about beer bread is that it can be changed depending on the season. Try a pumpkin, apple, or honey flavored beer for an extra flavor punch. I haven’t tried Guinness Beer Bread, but I hear that it is fabulous.
Beer Bread Recipe
When I visited grandma and she generously shared her recipe with me, we talked about why she did it the way she did. She actually used lard instead of butter as it was more economical and readily available. (They didn’t have much and always made use of what they had!) She would place the lard on top of the beer bread before placing in the oven. I found that fascinating and asked her why… she said ‘because that’s how my mom did it’. Fair enough!
I also listed salt as optional in this recipe. We love a saltier bread and even sprinkled some sea salt over the finished product! You can certainly omit the salt if you prefer.
Sugar in Beer Bread
Grandma also didn’t add sugar to hers, so I am leaving that out of the recipe. However, it is an important ingredient depending on the beer you use.
I started with an IPA beer and found that no additional sugar was needed. The power of that beer was enough to properly flavor the beer bread. I eventually ended up using a Miller Lite in the recipe (as we like to drink the IPA too and were out!) and didn’t think the bread was as flavorful. So I added 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and LOVED how it turned out. You can add anywhere from 1-4 tablespoons in this beer bread recipe, and it should be done according to your tastes.
If you prefer a sweeter beer bread but don’t want to use granulated sugar, you can use honey! About 1/4 cup works best in the recipe I have shared below.
Butter and Beer Bread
Butter matters! After making a zillion beer bread recipes I found that I liked a SALTED butter and that it should be as organic as possible. Dark in color and rich in flavor. If I was going to try and replicate what lard did in grandma’s recipe, I needed to make sure that I was using a high-quality butter! One of our favorites was an Amish salted butter that I found at the co-op. I also loved Challenge Butter!
Flavor Options for Beer Bread
As you will see from my base recipe, beer bread is one of those breads that can be easily customized to fit your tastes.
Beer Cheese Bread:
Add 1 to 1 1/4 cups cheddar cheese to the batter. I like to reserve about 1/4 cup to spread over the top of the bread before baking. You can also add 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and dried rosemary to kick it up a notch!
Apple Beer Bread:
Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 cup of chopped apple, and use an apple-flavored beer. Try adding apple butter for over-the-top amazing flavor!
Chocolate Beer Bread:
Add in 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (plus more for sprinkling over the top), use 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and a chocolate flavored beer.
The sky is the limit when it comes to making beer bread! What is your favorite flavor?
Here is a video on how I made this Beer Bread. I used Coors for this version.
Beer Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups (330g) sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons salt optional
- 1 can (12-ounces) beer room temperature
- ½ cup (1 stick, 113g) salted OR unsalted butter, cold
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prepare a 9×5 glass loaf pan with butter or pan-release. (If you don't have glass try and use a light colored pan as a dark pan might bake the edges too quickly.)
- In a bowl add the flour, baking powder, and salt. (add the sugar here if using)
- Whisk dry ingredients together.
- Pour in the beer and stir all ingredients until just combined and there are no dry parts. The batter will be thick.
- Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and smooth out if needed.
- Cut the butter into slices (roughly tablespoon size) and place on top of the raw batter evenly.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the bread is golden brown on top. There should be about 1/2 inch of melted butter bubbling at the bottom. (I start checking at 35 minutes and my bread is usually done. I have a convection oven.)
- Allow to cool on the counter for about 5 minutes or until all of the butter in the bottom of the pan is soaked back up into the bread.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
I pulsed half of the cold butter in the food processor, with the dry mix. I did add both salt and a little sugar. Used a “belgian wheat” beer and added “everything” topping on top, along with the rest of the cold butter. I was fabulous!
I love that you wrote, “I was fabulous”. I think you meant “it was fabulous” but I like your version better. 🙂
Making this bread for the second time made it the exact way the recipe states with 2 tablespoons of sugar and using the cheddar cheese if this bread comes out the way the first One did it will be totally awesome
don;t know why so many people are having problems with butter overrunning and messing up their oven???I have made the bread many times and used butter pats or melted butter and never a problem…Common sense also on many of the questions..It will not hurt you to take a tiny taste of condiments you put in for the finished product…Not enough salt to your taste, add more or less ets..same as with sugar blah blah..Have a great day and once again I will enjoy my beer bread turkey swiss cheese sandwich…And probably will sing the BEER BARREL POLKA~~
This sounds like an awesome recipe, having looked at others and read the comments. Could you use a wheat or rye flour (mixed maybe?). I am definitely trying this with a heavier darker ale or sout. Can’t wait!
Hi, Trish! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. We have not tried using wheat or rye flour, but that sounds delicious, especially with a darker ale or stout. I would love to hear how it turned out!
Does the beer have to be room temp? I already got everything ready but just took the beer out of the fridge cuz I didn’t see that part right away.
It should be ok. Room temp is best but I have to admit I have added cool beer before 🙂
I’ve used this recipe at least 20 times now, have never used more than 1/2 stick of butter, and it is always amazing, gets a delicious fried crust. Afraid to try a full stick of butter after one batch even bubbled over. Just made a perfect loaf with Boulevard Wheat Beer, but O’Dell Cloud Catcher IPA has been our all time favorite ingredient (when we can find it).
Loved it! Used a dark beer, no sugar about one tsp.of salt. Had no issues with the butter coming out of the pan, Thanks for the recipe.
Second time making this bread. First time worked really well and it was great, no problems. This time using the same pan and everything am experiencing overflow of the butter to the bottom of my oven. Good thing I have all my windows open or I would be dealing with the smoke alarms going off. Only thing I can think of different is that it took me a little longer to get the ingredients mixed before putting in the pan and I used spray on pan coating instead of coating the pan with Crisco or cold butter. My recommendation is to work as quickly as possible so it limits rising before putting dough in the pan and stick with a solid pan coating, not a spray on. Haven’t tasted it yet, but I’m sure it sill be good!
Thank you for the feedback, Diana! I will retest the recipe to see if I can replicate your experience and then make any adjustments as needed.
My had a gorgeous texture; used whole meal flour and John smiths but seems to taste of baking soda?
Hi, Jo! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. Be sure to use baking powder in the beer bread recipe. Have a great day!
I melt the butter, mix half in to batter and brush the rest on top. We like to add minced garlic and shredded cheese too.