If you’re looking for a deliciously savory, absolutely foolproof quick bread, look no further than this incredibly yummy Beer Bread with Cheddar Cheese recipe! Simply made with 6 basic ingredients and just 15 minutes of prep, this honey and white cheddar beer bread is the zippiest way to add a little extra panache to your plate.
½CupUnsalted Butter – melted and cooled slightly; DIVIDED in half
OptionalGarnishing and Serving: Whipped Herb Butter or Honey Butter,Grated Parmesan, Smoked Paprika
Instructions
Preheat Oven and Prep Pan: Arrange oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 375-degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease your loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter and set aside.
Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour with the scallions, all but 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese, sugar, baking powder, garlic powder, paprika, and chili powder. Season with a heaping teaspoon of kosher salt and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper. Use a whisk to stir the ingredients together until fully combined.
Add Wet Ingredients: Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the beer, honey, and ¼ cup of the melted butter into the well. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir the ingredients together until JUST combined. (Note: The batter should appear thick and lumpy. A couple of small flour pockets is perfectly fine. DO NOT over-mix.)
Add Beer Bread Batter to Pan: Carefully pour the bread batter into the prepared loaf pan. Use a spatula to gently smooth the top of the batter.
Pour Remaining Butter over Batter: Slowly and evenly pour the remaining ¼ cup of melted butter all over the top of the beer bread. Then, sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of cheese all over the bread. (Tip: Use a pastry brush if you’d like to ensure the entire top of the bread is coated in melted butter.) (Note: I also like to sift smoked paprika all over my bread before baking. This is totally optional.)
Bake Beer Bread: Place the bread into the preheated oven and bake for 40 minutes to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the beer bread comes out clean – a few moist crumbs are perfectly fine. (Note: I bake my bread for 44 minutes.)
Cool Cheese Beer Bread: Transfer the loaf pan to a wire rack and let the beer bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then, invert the bread onto the wire rack and let the cheddar beer bread cool until just warm to the touch, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Slice and Serve Beer Cheese Bread: Slice the cheddar honey beer bread into thick 1-inch slices and serve warm with whipped herb butter or honey butter. Enjoy!
Notes
Beer: The variety of beer will completely change the taste of this bread. Stouts, ales, or any yeasty dark beers work best in this beer bread recipe as the yeast helps the bread rise. While you can use lighter beers, such as Heineken or Miller Lite, please note that these beers have the yeast filtered out and your bread may not be quite as fluffy. If you’re in the fall season, try using a hard cider beer or pumpkin beer!
Butter: If you’d like to use salted butter, reduce the salt in the recipe (step 2) by ½ teaspoon.
Do Not Over-Mix: Over-mixing is the deathblow to most baking recipes. Make sure you just mix the batter until no more large flour pockets remain. Over-mixing and over-stirring your bread batter will lead to a very dense loaf.
Making in Advance: Do not attempt to make the beer bread batter in advance. Due to the chemical reaction of beer and baking powder, you want to bake the bread within about 15 minutes of making the batter. If you wait any longer you run the risk of your bread not rising while baking.
Do Not Over Bake: Over baking your honey beer bread will cause it to become very dry and crumbly. Make sure you bake the bread JUST until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cooling: Make sure you let the bread cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then cool for at least an hour outside of the pan on a wire rack. Why? If you try to slice the bread while it’s still very warm and tender the slices will simply fall apart.
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and the nutrition facts are an estimate based upon 12 servings. Exact information will depend upon the brands of ingredients and precise measurements used.