Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Frugal Activity of the week- Beer Bread

Food again? Yeah, I know.

Last night Paul and I enjoyed a nice, simple dinner- cheese, summer sausage, and bread. Not particularly healthy, but it kept me out of the kitchen after a long day of cleaning and organizing the living room. It is also one of our traditions- the cheese and sausage came from one of those Hickory Farms gift sets that were on clearance after Christmas.

The beer bread makes the meal, in my opinion. 5 minutes of work in the kitchen for a loaf of bread? I'll take it!

I personally use self rising flour, since I had some on hand. Once that's gone, though, I'll be mixing double batches and storing one for the next time around. Here's the basic recipe:

3 C self-rising flour*
3 Tbsp sugar
1 bottle of beer.

Seriously, that's all there is to it! Mix all ingredients well(use a fork or a spoon- a whisk just turns into a club), dump into a greased loaf pan, and bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes. Do not preheat the oven. Comes out better if you don't.


*If you don't have self-rising flour on hand, just mix 3 cups flour with 1 Tbsp baking powder and 1 tsp salt.

This makes a great gift, a great filling side dish, or, if you're like us- add cheese and sausage and make it dinner...

And it is very inexpensive- if you have beer in the house anyways. We have bachelors living in the apartment below us, so we know where to get an extra beer or two! Craft beers work VERY well for this- I've used Pumpkin Head, last night's was Sam Adam's Hefeweizen. We tend to buy a 12 pack of the "seasonal" beers and usually find one or two that we don't particularly enjoy- now it is just an excuse for beer bread!


See this and more at Kitchen Tip Tuesdays hosted by Tammysrecipes.com!


*Oh, and I slice my bread upside down. When it is done, I take a tea towel, cover the loaf pan, and invert it (so the bread pan can soak right away, and the crust doesn't continue cooking). I end up with upside down bread on my counter, and I just don't take the time to stand it up on end.

2 comments:

Kirstin said...

Yum. we don't drink beer, but I do love beer bread. this sounds so quick and easy.

Cindi said...

Oh my! I totally have to try this!