You will love this recap of John Kanell from Preppy Kitchen's beer bread. This is a great one-bowl recipe using staples from your pantry and helps you turn a bottle of beer into an amazing, warm, and fluffy loaf. This bread tastes like one gigantic biscuit; it's so good. And the alcohol bakes off in the oven, so it's family-friendly too.

Beer bread is a new thing for me and something I am adding to my repertoire. People will be surprised when they find out that there was alcohol in this bread recipe. You wouldn't expect it, but it's an important ingredient here and makes this loaf super light and airy.

Key Takeaways

Collect Your Baking Supplies

Flour Foundation Basics

Start off by getting your ingredients. The two main ones are flour and beer. All-purpose flour will work here; no fancy flours are needed. When it comes to beer, there are so many choices. I use a honey IPA to give sweetness. Try to avoid anything that is strong or bitter. Any amber or white beer will work fine. I am a big lover of IPA, and honey IPA with its sweetness is a great choice.

When it comes to baking, I like to measure by weight for accuracy, but you can use cups if you are a measure-by-cup kind of baker. I had never heard of bread baked with beer before this, so I was really curious to taste it, make it, and see if it lived up to the hype. It definitely does.

Selecting Your Beer

Leavening Agent and Sweetener Choices

Salt Options and Advice

Salt Type	Amount
Regular salt (what John uses)	1 teaspoon
Fine table salt	3/4 teaspoon

Butter for Rich Flavor

Getting Your Pan Ready

Greasing Your Baking Pan

To get your pan ready, start by buttering a nine-by-five-inch loaf pan. Keep your butter at room temperature, use your fingers or a paper towel, and make sure you get right into the corners. You don't want the loaf to stick.

Line the pan with parchment, and you can use this as a sling by grabbing the edges to remove the loaf when it is done. I am a big stickler for buttering and lining pans; that's my early baking escapades. We're not too successful, and everything would stick. Some people use non-stick spray, but I always prefer to use butter; it has never let me down.

My biggest tip would be to always ensure you get right into the corners, and don't be shy with the butter. There's nothing worse than going to the effort of making a loaf of bread, only for it to stick when cooked. It can be so frustrating, trust me.

Adding Paper for Simple Removal

Preparing the Batter

Blending the Dry Mix

To get your batter ready, mix up the dry ingredients first in one bowl: your flour, sugar, and baking powder, along with salt. I always like to use a good sea salt, like Maldon, but table salt will work if that's what you have. Give this a gentle whisk together to fully incorporate before adding the wet ingredients. Don't forget the sugar as well, as this normally balances the bitterness from the beer but helps to brown the bread.

This is a non-yeast bread, so there is no waiting around, which I personally love. That's one of the major drawbacks of making bread: hanging around waiting for it to prove. You don't have to with this one. I love a good quick bread. This is also a genuine one-bowl recipe; some recipes that say they are one-bowl aren't really. No worries with this one. A great loaf of bread with minimal cleanup. Definitely works for me.

Adding the Beer

Keeping It Simple

Perfect Baking Results

Oven Heat and Baking Time

To get the perfect results for your bake, use an oven temp of 375 degrees Fahrenheit and cook the loaf for around 40 to 45 minutes in your buttered and parchment-lined pan.

When it is nice and golden and risen, it should be done, but don't be afraid to do the skewer test to check and ensure there's no wet batter in the center. If you are new to baking, do the skewer test. There's nothing worse than baking something and assuming it's done when it isn't. Watching a cake collapse or cutting into a loaf that is still doughy in the center can be so annoying.

I have baked so many things now that I can virtually tell by eye and smell if something is ready or not. 40 to 45 minutes is quite quick for a loaf of bread to bake, which is why this recipe is so appealing.

Checking When Your Bread is Ready

Working with Different Loaf Pans

Final Steps

Brushing with Melted Butter

To finish this loaf off, once you remove it from the oven, try brushing that tablespoon of melted butter over the warm loaf. Do it on the top, the sides, and even the bottom. This helps to create a nice soft crust as the bread soaks up the butter.

Use the parchment to lift the pan out first, then, once buttered, let it cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing. If you try to slice too soon, it will be gummy, and you don't want that. Try to resist the temptation. I used to do this when I first started baking bread, and it completely ruins the texture.

Cooling and Slicing

Serving Suggestions

Great pairings:

Making Beer Bread Your Way

Working with Alcohol-Free Beer

You can customize this bread recipe quite easily, and you can use non alcoholic beer if you prefer. It's not really the alcohol that's important in this recipe; it's the yeast from the beer, which you can still get from a non-alcoholic version. You can still end up with a great fluffy loaf.

When picking your beer, make sure it is something that you like to drink, so that we will end up with a loaf that you actually enjoy. My favorite beer is Guinness, and I love the malty flavor it adds to a loaf of bread.

Trying Different Beer Types

Adding Your Personal Touch

Storage and Serving Tips

Keeping Your Beer Bread Fresh

When it comes to storing your beer bread, the first thing to do is make sure it's completely cool. Then you can wrap it in plastic wrap or use any airtight container. It should stay fresh for about 2 to 3 days at room temperature. The butter coating will help the crust stay soft.

If you want this bread to last a bit longer, try slicing it and then freezing the individual slices so you can toast it straight from the freezer whenever you want a beer bread fix. This is something that I genuinely do, as I am usually terrible at buying a loaf of bread or making a loaf of bread for a recipe and only using a portion of it.

Always cover it well. I like to use aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn as much as possible.

Perfect Serving Suggestions

Morning and Anytime Pairing Ideas

Sweet Options	Savory Options
Apple butter and cinnamon	Cream cheese and herbs
Maple syrup drizzle	Sliced cheese and tomatoes
Fresh berries	Soup and salad

Keep reading

• EASY Buttermilk Biscuits Recipe
• Salsa Cream Cheese Crab Dip Recipe – From The Side Of The Fridge
• Easy to Make Southern Hoppin’ John – The Best Recipe Ever!