This is nothing like the artisan bread I like to make, but it is very good in its own right, and SO EASY to make! Just mix up a few ingredients and pop it in the oven. It doesn't look like much, and doesn't get browned on top, but it is tasty and has a nice texture, something like English muffins. I had it yesterday on the side with a bowl of soup. On the second day, this makes delicious toast, and slices also be frozen for later.
BEER BREAD
adapted from https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/2766-beer-bread
unsalted butter or margarine, for greasing the pan
cornmeal or flour for dusting the greased pan
2 cups all-purpose flour (or you can just use 3 cups of all-purpose and cut out the rye and whole wheat flour; the Times recipe was entirely all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 t. baking powder
1 t. kosher salt
1 T. granulated sugar
1 12-oz can of beer,* at room temperature (If you forget to take the beer out of the fridge, that's fine, you may just need to bake the bread a little longer.)
optional: a reader suggests adding olives and rosemary. Sounds good, but I keep forgetting to try it!
*Type of beer to use: The original recipe recommended a bland beer, but I've used an IPA and like the result—you can taste the beer in the bread, but that's not a bad thing. Other Times readers also mention liking the results with a tasty beer like stout.
1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan and dust with cornmeal or flour.
2. Put the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and whisk together to mix. Pour in the beer and stir just until the flour is all incorporated.
3. Put the batter in the loaf pan, spread it out evenly in the pan, and bake for about 40-42 minutes.
4. Let cool completely on a cooling rack before slicing.
