Quick Beer Bread

We have lots of beer in our refrigerator. We're not big beer drinkers. We buy it when people come for dinner. Often it doesn't get drunk. So it sits in the refrigerator for months. It's taking up space. But not for long. I'm making beer bread until all the beer has vanished. Look out friends and co-workers - there's a beer bread in your future.Beer bread is so easy to make why didn't I think of it sooner? For this loaf I used Left Hand Brewing Co.'s Good JuJu, a seasonal offering brewed with real ginger. The ginger is very subtle even if drinking this straight but it's a complete non-issue once you cook with it. I found Farm Girl Fare's recipe for inspiration. Once you have the basic idea you can get very creative. I added fresh herbs because I had them. I can also see adding dried fruit, seeds, nuts, cheeses.

Ingredients:

2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached bread flour
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder
14 ounces beer (or 12 ounces beer & 2 ounces water)
1 handful fresh dill, chopped
1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
1 garlic close, minced

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl combine all the ingredients. Slowly stir in the beer and mix until just combined. You will have a nice thick batter.

Spread this batter into a greased 8-inch loaf pan. I then drizzled a bit of olive oil over it. I baked this until a thin knife stuck in the center came out clean, about 45 minutes. And I turn the pan around about 20 minutes into baking because our oven is hotter in the back.

Let this cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes then slide it out of the pan onto the rack and let it cool about 10 more minutes. This bread tastes best warm but we also enjoyed it at room temperature and even toasted.