Beer Bread

By Florence Fabricant

Updated Oct. 12, 2023

Beer Bread
Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Total Time
40 minutes
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Rating
5(1,758)
Comments
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Thanks to a bottle of beer, this crazy-easy, one-bowl bread has the yeasty taste and texture of a traditional risen loaf but without any of the toil. It is also tender and incredibly moist. We like it served with a bowl of hearty winter stew or toasted, with butter, for breakfast.

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Ingredients

Yield:1 large loaf
  • Unsalted butter, for greasing the pan
  • Cornmeal
  • 3cups all-purpose flour (see Tip)
  • 3teaspoons baking powder
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1(12-ounce) can beer (the blander the better)
  • 2tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan and dust with cornmeal. For stovetop baking, use a heavy Dutch oven or similar pot that has been greased and dusted with cornmeal but not heated.

  2. Step 2

    Mix flour, baking powder, salt and sugar and stir in the beer. Place batter in the pan. Oven baking will take about 35 minutes. For stovetop baking, cover the pan and place it on a heat shield over a low to medium flame and bake until a knife or cake tester comes out clean.

  3. Step 3

    Remove from pan, drizzle with butter if desired and allow to cool completely before slicing. The bread has a texture similar to that of English muffins and tastes best toasted.

Tip
  • Three cups of self-rising flour can be substituted. Omit the baking powder and salt.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,758 user ratings
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Comments

Jennifer Kepes

I’ve made three loaves in the last 24 hours and have learned that it makes a huge difference in the height of the bread if you leave the dough out for fifteen or twenty minutes before popping it in the oven; easily a third higher. This is an easy, delicious recipe!

Alejandro

An amazing, easy and fast recipe. I used Stella Artois beer (don't know if you can find it in USA, I live in Argentina) and it was perfect. I was so pleased with the bread that I made a second one the day after, and that time I added a medium size onion, chopped, and black olives, pitted and chopped. I also sprinkled with melted butter as in recipe, which I hadn't done the first time. Really worth it for the looks and the flavor. Finished with some black pepper on top of the butter.

Joe

To echo past comments, I also recommend using the blandest beer you have. I used Miller Lite, and it turned out great. One other note-- I don't bake much and this is probably a rookie mistake, but I would suggest using a beer that's at room temperature. I pulled a cold one out of the fridge and poured it into the batter. It probably didn't bake as evenly as it could have. That said, will definitely make this again.

Jill Oudil

I didn't use cornmeal but put butter on top right away before baking. Love a crunch. Sprinkled some Fleur de sel on top. I put a bit of whole wheat in instead of all white flour and baked for about 50 min. Everyone loved it!

El Hefa

You can use 1/2 almond flour and still get a great bread. Let it sit in the pan for 15 min before baking. like others have suggested.

katie

Made twice, once as written and then with 1/3 wheat flour. Both with a local oatmeal stout. Baked 45 minutes. Excellent results.

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