Honey Beer Bread

If  you know me at all you know I’m continually looking for a way to blend honey into my recipes.  It’s a cinch to drench a biscuit with honey, stir a spoonful into my tea, pour it over my yogurt or simply dip a finger into the jar and lick!  The latter being a mission I undertake almost daily.  Here is a tasty way I’ve found to get my daily dose of honey, Honey Beer Bread.

I added a photo of the most recently baked loaf to my last post, “In My Kitchen”. My man Dan asked me to make creole red beans and sausage over the weekend.  We were trying to pretend our weather was cold and wintry, even though the temps were nearing 80*.  No problem we just cranked the air conditioner down to a  near chill and enjoyed steamy bowls of beans and rice with this chunky bread for dunking.

It takes just minutes to mix the ingredients and since you need one beer for the recipe, you can sip on a second cold beer while you wait for it to bake.  I mean why buy just one beer when you can grab an entire 6 pack!  This bread is soft, moist and slightly sweet on the inside with a nice crunchy outside.  I think it’s the melted butter you pour over the dough before popping it into the oven that gives a nice brown, crunchy top.  Can you say, “Yum!”.

Enjoy!

Honey Beer Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar

• 1 Tbsp. baking powder

• 1 tsp. salt

• 2 Tbsp. honey  

• 1 bottle (12 ounces) beer (I used Fat Tire)

• 4 Tbsp. (half stick) butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x 5x 3-inch loaf pan. Place a piece of parchment paper into the bottom of the pan.   I like using my stone loaf pan for this.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed. (I recommend popping your honey in the microwave for a few seconds beforehand to make it easier to stir in!)

Pour half the melted butter into the loaf pan. Then spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter. (Use a pastry brush to spread it around)

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve immediately.