Beer Bread!

So, I don't usually care for Yeast Juice. I can have it now and then, and I'm starting to learn to appreciate the complexity of the tastes and all that... but if I want to get inerbriated, Yeast Juice isn't usually my first choice. Also, I'm a giant Nancy Boy who wouldn't know a good taste if it punched me in the ovaries. Or so my college friends tell me.

But I've found an awesome use for Beer. Beer Bread. The recipe below doesn't produce quite the awesome deliciousness that I remember my mom making with the Pampered Chef Beer Bread Mix, but this is a much cheaper way to go about it (and is still pretty damned good).

Beer Bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour (Sifted, if your flour is pretty densely-packed)
• 3 teaspoons ( = 1 tablespoon) Baking Powder (NOT Baking Soda)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons butter (optional)
• 12 ounce bottle of beer (of your choice)
  

Directions: This is pretty simple. Preheat the oven to ~375*F. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl, pour the beer in, and mix the hell out of it until it's a smooth, homogenous mix. If desired, melt the butter and mix it into the bread (it will affect the flavor and consistency slightly, but is not very noticeable). Pour the mixture into a greased 5x9 baking dish, place it on the preheating oven, and let rise for ~30-~40 minutes. After rising, if desired melt the butter and pour over the top of the liquidy dough (putting the butter on top will give a crunchier top to the bread as well as affect the flavor a bit. This can really add some variety to the texture). Bake at 375*F for 50-60 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes (the longer you wait, the less crumbly your bread will be).

This recipe is especially tasty with a thin layer of butter spread across the bread. It's got a nice sweet and savory flavor to it. Plus, you're making bread from scratch and its very easy. So you've gotta feel self-sufficient (and manly, since you're using yeast juice).

This recipe is really versitile, too! If you've got a beer that compliments it well (a Lager or Ale, I think? Don't take my word on that...), you can mix ~1/2 cup of shredded cheese into the batter before rising, then top the bread with some more shredded cheese before baking for a nice cheesy bread (it's a little bit greasy, though...). I've also made a yummy dessert-type beer bread by using "Wild Blue" Blueberry Lager and mixing 1/2 cup blueberries into the batter.

Experiment with the recipe, and enjoy!