Irish Beer Bread

Submitted by mersaydees

"From Beatrice Ojakangas’ book, Great Holiday Baking Book. This is a quick bread that’s great for snaking or for serving with a meal. The bread is delicious served warm from the oven or served at room temperature. St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, is named after St. Patrick, the British-born monk who is credited with driving the snakes out of Ireland. Patrick converted the Irish to Christianity and is said to have used the green shamrock (which means “little clover” in Gaelic) as a visual aid to illustrate the doctrine of the trinity, three holy entities in one. As a result, the shamrock and the color green have become symbols of St. Patrick’s Day."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 8
• Yields: 2 Loaves

ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces (1 stick)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 1⁄2 cups beer (one 12-ounce bottle)

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Prepare two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans by lightly greasing.
3. In large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until completely blended inches Mix in the egg and beer all at once until a stiff dough is formed. If mixing by hand, turn out onto a floured board and knead until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Divide the dough in half. Shape each into a round loaf; place each loaf into a prepared pan. Press down to flatten until each is about 7 inches in diameter. Using a sharp knife, slash a deep cross in the top of each loaf, making the cuts ½ inch deep and about 5 inches long.
5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean and dry.

Reviews

[NurseJaney]

*Made for Australia/NZ Swap #74* -- and for St. Paddy's Day, too ! I am not a bread baker, but have made other beer breads. There was just NO flavor -- I checked with mersaydees about ingredients, and recipe was accurate. The dough was a nice consistency (after adding a little flour to smooth), and the bread baked up nicely, with a good "thunk". I had used a stout beer, and couldn't even taste that ! Perhaps using salted butter and/or a little sugar, might bring out some flavor. Other beer breads I have made, used bread flour -- and had a more coarse finish. Sorry, mersaydees -- it was quick and easy to make up.