Beer Bread

(Jalapeno Cheddar Beer Bread pictured)

Beer Bread is always a winner.  It's simple, quick, and affordable.  It is great at parties, potlucks, and other social gatherings.  I learned to make beer bread in college from my roommate Ian, and even if Ian was not the amazing man that he is, I would still be indebted to him for this beer bread recipe.

In case you or someone you know is worried about the alcohol from the beer, the boiling point of alcohol is 173°^F well below the 350°^F the bread is baked at.  Even when compensating for the boiling point elevation due to solute concentrations, it is safe to say the ethanol (alcohol) in the dough will boil out of the bread long before it finishes baking.

Ingredients:
3 C flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C sugar
1 can/bottle/12 oz. beer (use whatever, my experimenting with different quality, brands, and styles of beer has not yielded detectable differences in beer bread)
1/3ish C butter

Directions:
(brace yourselves for the complexities)

• Preheat oven to 350°^F
• Mix ingredients (everything except butter) in a large bowl.
• Pour dough into a greased loaf pan (a deep/wide pan is best)
• Layer thin (~1/4 inch, 1/2 cm) slices of butter on top of whole loaf.  The butter by the sides of the pan will coat the sides of the loaf.
• Bake for 45-60 mins (toothpick comes out clean)
• Cool and enjoy.

Variables:

An option to spice things up with beer bread can be the addition of cheese and/or jalapenos.

1-2 C grated cheese (cheddar was more flavorful than pepper jack)

5-6 jalapeno slices (diced)

Add to the dough, no alteration to bake time.