Beer Bread Recipe
Beer bread is fluffy and flavorful and practically foolproof to make, with no yeast needed. This is the easiest homemade bread recipe ever!
What is Beer Bread?
Beer bread is one my favorite quick bread recipes; quick bread is a type of bread that uses a leavening agent other than yeast or eggs.
Because it doesn’t require yeast or eggs, this is the perfect bread recipe to make when you haven’t had a chance to run to the store or for times when those particular ingredients might be hard to find.
Like other quick breads, beer bread is super easy to make! There’s no waiting for bread to rise or worrying that you’ll “mess up” that process. It’s nearly impossible to mess up!
All you have to do is stir together the ingredients, pour into a baking pan, and bake!
Easy Beer Bread Recipe
When I was a kid, my mom got a bread maker and it was pretty much the coolest thing ever! It was so much fun to help make different recipes and the smell of bread baking was heavenly!
One of the recipes we tried was “beer bread” — I remember it being super easy and totally delicious.
In 2020, one of the first things grocery stores ran out of was yeast. That’s when I remembered that beer bread recipe that I used to make with my mom and I insisted to my husband that we try it! No yeast needed!!
Oh my goodness…it turned out even better than in my memories!
First…the crust. It’s golden brown and has that perfect chewy texture of fresh-baked bread. Inside is buttery, fluffy, and with a hint of sweetness. The aromatic spices mingle with a hint of hops from the beer and it is a treat for your taste buds!
The whole family went crazy for our first loaf — it tasted incredible paired with my husband’s famous spaghetti! It also is fabulous for dunking in a bowl of hot soup.
Ingredients
- 3 cups All-purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 3 teaspoons Baking Powder — This is one ingredient you can’t skip! Without baking powder, the bread will not rise up as well.
- 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar — Sugar is also important because it reacts with the beer to help make the bread rise.
- 12oz Beer — A typical can or bottle should be perfect.
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning — This seasoning is optional, but I love the way the Italian seasoning mingles with the beer flavor. It’s almost like breadsticks or pizza dough in taste!
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder — Also optional, but my husband swears by garlic powder to make just about anything taste even better!
- 1/4 cup Melted Butter – Pouring this over our bread before baking will give it the perfect golden brown crust!
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Instructions
To Prep: Preheat oven to 350° and grease a loaf pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
- Sift flour into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in salt, baking powder, sugar, and seasoning.
- Slowly pour one can of beer into the bowl with dry ingredients. Stir until ingredients are just combined and dough forms.
- Scoop batter into prepared pan and spread gently.
- Pour 1/4 melted butter on top of the dough and bake for 50-55 minutes. Remove from oven when the bread just starts to turn golden brown on top. Give the pan a good shake to loosen up the sides of the bread from the pan, then finish cooling on a wire rack.
Prep Tips
- Sifting the Flour – This is an easy step to miss, but don’t skip it! Sifting the flour before you mix up the dough creates a lighter, fluffier bread.
- Adding the Beer – Pour slowly in case the beer starts to foam. Allow the foam to settle a bit, then keep pouring.
- Mixing the Dough – Stir ingredients by hand with a wooden spoon. You only need to mix until everything is just combined and the dough comes together. You don’t want to overwork the dough.
- Butter – It may sound a little odd to pour melted butter on top of the bread loaf before baking. However this will create a beautiful golden brown crust when baking.
- Variations – When using Italian seasoning, I love to top the loaf with fresh herbs. You can switch things up and make this a sweet bread by omitting the Italian seasoning/garlic powder and instead adding a Tablespoon of honey.
- Storage – Leftovers can last for a few days if you keep it in an airtight container at room temperature. We usually just put ours in a large ziplock bag, but you can keep in the loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap or foil. You could also freeze it for later, and it would keep for about a month in the freezer. Be sure to use freezer bags for this to prevent freezer burn.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Kind of Beer is Best?
You can use any type of beer, so go with your favorite! Each type of beer will provide its own unique flavor to the bread, so its fun to experiment!
Just like the beer itself, a lighter beer will create a milder bread, while a darker beer will give you a bread with more intense flavor profile.
Can Beer Bread Get You Drunk?
Not to worry! Beer is low in alcohol to begin with, and by the time your bread is done baking, most (if not all) of the alcohol will evaporate.
In an article for the Pittsburg Post-Gazette, Robert Bates, who teaches industrial food fermentation at the University of Florida, says that there’s no more alcohol in a loaf of fresh-baked beer bread than “if you squeezed a fresh orange.” You cannot get drunk, or even tipsy, from eating beer bread.
Our kids love beer bread, but if you’re worried at all or uncomfortable cooking with alcohol, feel free to substitute with non-alcoholic beer.
Can You Use Non-Acoholic Beer?
Yes! The carbonation is what really matters here, as it interacts with the sugar and the baking powder to help the bread rise.
As we mentioned above, almost all of the alcohol cooks out of the bread; however, non-alcoholic beer is a perfectly acceptable substitute if you want all the flavor and zero alcohol.
More Easy Bread Recipes To Try:
- Slow Cooker Bread with Rosemary
- Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread Wreath
- Microwave Monkey Bread
- Chocolate Cloud Bread
- Easy Southern Biscuits
- 4-Ingredient Copycat Little Caesars Breadsticks
Easy Beer Bread Recipe (Printable Recipe Card)
If you like this recipe, please rate it! We’d also love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Beer Bread Recipe
Equipment
- Flour Sifter
- Large Mixing Bowl
- 9x5 Loaf Pan
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 12 oz beer
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning optional
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder optional
- 1/4 cup butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F, grease a loaf pan and set aside.
- Sift flour into large mixing bowl. Add salt, baking powder, sugar, and seasonings.
- Add beer to mixing bowl, pouring slowly, as it might create a bit of foam.
- Stir until ingredients are just combined and dough forms.
- Scoop dough into your prepared loaf pan and spread to evenly distribute.
- Pour 1/4 cup melted butter on top and bake for 55 minutes.
- Check at 50 minutes; remove from oven when bread starts to turn golden brown on top. This may take up to an hour depending on your oven.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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What size loaf pan is needed for this recipe?
We used a standard sized loaf pan, which is generally 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″. Anything in that size range should work!
Subbed Greek seasoning for Italian!! Delicious!
Thank You
I bet that would taste fantastic!