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Beer bread is simultaneously the fastest and the least-effort-required bread you could possibly bake. And there is just something about its sweetness, its distinctive smell and the warmth of its freshly baked crust and soft texture. And when the weather gets cold we seem to crave it frequently. This version is based on our go-to base recipe but we add shredded cheese.
Cheesy Porter Bread Ingredients
You will need:
- sweet porter ale or stout - avoid bitter types, see below for tips on what to select
- cheddar cheese - a sharp aged variety adds more flavor
- flour - all purpose or a combination of all-purpose and cake flour (1:1)
- butter - melted, to pour over the thick beer bread batter
- baking powder, salt and sugar
- sage leaves - optional, but what a fragrant addition
How to Make It
All you have to do is:
- Heat the oven and line a bread pan with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients, then pour the beer and mix just a few times to incorporate (too much mixing will get the gluten over excited).
- Fold in the shredded cheese and transfer to the lined pan.
- Top with the melted butter - it will pool to the sides as shown below, than bake.
A Few Words on the Choice of Beer
Neither Chris, nor I (and we suspect you too) like to taste the bitterness of hops or roasted barley in a loaf, so we always make sure to choose a sweeter brew.
When selecting a porter (or brown ale or stout) go with one brewed without roasted barley in the grain bill and not too aggressively flavored with bittering hops.
To that end classic English (brown) porters are your best bet, but milk stouts (aka British sweet stouts) can work beautifully too. Baltic porters (which are actually lagers, strong and sweet) are a great contender.
In the case of this porter beer bread, the IBU of the Geary's London Porter we used was only 28.
Related content: Stout vs Porter.
How to Keep Your Porter Bread Moist
Beer bread dries out much quicker than yeast breads or even naturally fermented sour dough bread. Just like Irish soda bread does.
If you want to keep a loaf moist for a bit longer adding some olive oil can help.
Once out of the oven, place your bread onto a cooling rack (still in the pan) and turn off the oven. Generously brush it with olive oil - about ¼ cup, then put it back in the warm oven for just a few more minutes.
The loaf will soak it all up, faster than you think. The olive oil will also impart an herbal/floral flavor.
Do This with Beer Bread Past Its Prime
Beer bread is best fresh out of the oven but this doesn't mean that you should discard any leftovers.
Day old beer bread slices
- make amazing grilled cheese sandwiches.
- transform into decadent croutons (cubed and pan toasted with butter and herbs).
- are perfect for stuffings or savory brad puddings (cubed and further dried).
Other Recipes You Might Like
Irish Porter Cake | Guinness Lamb Stew | Sweet Raspberry Ale Bread | Apple Cider Bread | Pumpkin Ale Sweet Beer Bread
Recipe
Cheesy Porter Beer Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 4½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 oz porter or stout, choose one with low IBU
- ½ cup of shredded cheese
- ½ stick unsalted butter
- 10 sage leaves optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- In a mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients and mix well together.
- Add the porter while gently stirring until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix.
- Fold in the shredded cheese.
- Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper, grease it and spread the dough into it.
- Melt the butter and gently pour it over the dough.
- Decorate with sage leaves (optional).
- Bake for approximately 50-55 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean.
- Let the bread cool off for about 10 minutes before gently pulling it out of the pan and serving.
ripon hassan
Fantastic recipe.
Leanna
Delicious looking savoury load recipe. I think the addition of the sage on top is fantastic. Beautiful post I always enjoying browsing through your photographs.
CraftBeering
Thank you Leanna! I always enjoy your kind comments:)
Ashika | Gardening Foodie
What a beautiful loaf of bread this is. I love the smell of homemade bread and baking your own is so special. I am always looking for new bread recipes. Thank you for sharing so that I can try this recipe and add to my recipe box.
CraftBeering
Thank you so much Ashika!
Lynda Hardy
Beautiful loaf! I love the addition of the sage leaves. We do a lot of beer bread - I have found that craft experiences that we didn't love as much as we thought they would often turn out to make the best bread. 😀
CraftBeering
Too funny! Must be the magic of baking at work:)
annie@ciaochowbambina
Sing along... 'Heaven, I'm in heaven...." This is one gorgeous loaf of bread, my friend!! 🙂
CraftBeering
Haha! Never thought of a sing along song for beer bread! Like the idea:)
Amber Harrop
I love a good bread and I love cheese so this is heavenly to me
CraftBeering
Thank you Amber!
Debbie
I am actually very surprised by how good this looks and how easy it sounds to make it. As we are entering summer here I might just have to wait for a few months before trying it though. Thanks for sharing Blogger's Pt Stop, I've pinned this to the group board for others to see. Debbie from Deb's World.
CraftBeering
Oh, summer...my favorite season. A little bit jealous of you Debbie:)
Kelly @ Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats
This bread looks AMAZING! It's like I can almost smell it now 🙂 Thanks for sharing at Friday Frenzy Link Party! PINNED!
angie
my son in law would love this may just have to make some of it for him
come see us at http://shopannies.blogspot.com
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
OK my jaw actually dropped looking at the pic of the unbaked bread with the melted butter poured over it. That's the stuff dreams are made of. Homemade bread is my weakness and I just know this loaf will be totally irresistible, so I'll have to wait until more people are around to make it. Or I'll just eat nothing but bread and butter for the next week and chalk it up to holiday over-indulgence 🙂
CraftBeering
Oh, I hear you Kelsie, I grew up eating bread with every single meal, every single day. The consequences were not the best, lol! It took me years to learn to control my impulses and being in love with craft beer certainly helps:)
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
Yum! I know all about wind. The city that I live in is the windiest city in Canada. Ugh. No matter the weather, tho, I love me some carbs too and this bread is absolutely delicious! I love the generous pour of butter on top and those pretty sage leaves. And, you're right, I bet this would be amazing for croutons. Imagine that over a big bowl of hot soup or stew. Pinned! Happy Thanksgiving, you guys 🙂
CraftBeering
Thank you, Dawn! I had no idea about your city being the windiest, but it kind of makes sense. Wind is just such a formidable force of nature...It will be a long winter! Time for lots of soups and stews.
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
Beautiful! And so perfect with a big pot of soup or stew. Have a most wonderful Thanksgiving Milena 🙂
CraftBeering
Thank you, Jennifer!