beer bread

This quick, slightly sweet beer bread uses just 5 ingredients and bakes in under 5 minutes. The melted butter poured over the batter creates a crispy, buttery crust with a soft, beer-flavored interior!

Grab your favorite beer and let’s make this quick and easy beer bread recipe. It only has 5 ingredients and you don’t need a mixer! This bread is slightly sweet on the inside with a light beer flavor you can taste, and has a crisp crust all around the edges from the melted butter. 

This bread is the perfect comfort food. Slice it up and serve it with chicken vegetable soup or vegan chili. If you’re looking for more deliciously savory quick bread recipes, try my Irish brown bread or Mexican cornbread.

Professional Tips for Making Beer Bread

• Don’t overmix the batter. When making quick breads, you don’t want to overdevelop the gluten; this will lead to a tough texture. Mix the batter until just combined and no visible flour remains then bake.
• Use room-temperature beer. Using room-temperature beer will give the bread a better rise in the oven. Room-temperature beer will also incorporate easier into the batter than cold beer. 
• Bake in a metal loaf pan. This will give the bread the best rise and crust. A ceramic or glass loaf pan will cause a thicker crust, but the bread will still be delicious.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour has just the right amount of gluten to keep the quick bread tender without being chewy. 
• Baking Powder: Double-acting baking powder reacts instantly when mixed with an acid, in this case the beer, and then again when it is heated, which gives the bread a slower and more stable rise.
• Kosher Salt: Kosher salt is less salty than table salt, and a teaspoon weighs less than other finer-ground varieties. It heightens the flavor and prevents the beer bread from tasting dull or flat.
• Granulated Sugar: The granulated sugar adds a slight sweetness and enhances the bread’s flavor. It also helps create a crisp crust. 
• Light Beer: Use a light colored beer. The flavor comes through nicely without any bitterness. Save the Guinness stout for the Guinness chocolate cake! 
• Unsalted Butter: I use unsalted butter for baking to control the amount of salt in the dough .

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Make beer bread croutons: Heat oven to 400° F. Cut leftover or day-old beer bread into 1-inch cubes and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, then sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top; toss to coat. Toast in the oven until the edges are a deep golden brown, about 10-15 minutes, flipping once during baking. 
• Infuse the butter. When melting the butter, infuse it with rosemary, thyme, oregano, chilies, or garlic. Once heated, cover the melted butter in plastic wrap and let it sit for about an hour to allow the flavor to infuse. Reheat, strain, and pour over your bread.
• Make sweet beer bread. Double the sugar in the bread and add some cinnamon. You can also infuse the butter with cinnamon as well. (Maybe you have a pumpkin beer lying around! yum!) Then, you can also use leftover bread to make my crunchy French toast.
• Add mix-ins.  Add in shredded cheese like sharp cheddar, parmesan, or white cheddar with the dry ingredients. You can also experiment with diced salami or pepperoni in the bread.  More inclusions like cheese will make a denser crumb, and the bread will not be as tall or fluffy. This is normal.

How to Make This Easy Beer Bread Recipe

Use these instructions to make this easy homemade beer bread recipe! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375°F conventional (no fan). Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. 

Step 2: Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar to a large bowl and whisk to distribute. 

This bread comes together so fast that I recommend preheating the oven before you even start measuring. Make sure the oven is fully preheated before adding the beer to the mixture. If the oven is not hot enough, the dough may not rise properly, resulting in a dense and rubbery texture.

Step 3: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat or in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave. 

Step 4: Pour the beer into the flour mixture all at once, then stir it in using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. This will help limit the gluten formation and help keep the bread more tender and less rubbery. 

Step 5: Scrape the batter into the sprayed loaf pan and spread out using the spatula. 

You can also make beer bread muffins. Divide the batter into 12 sprayed muffin tins, pour 1 teaspoon of melted butter into each, and bake for 20-22 minutes. 

Step 6: Immediately after spreading the batter in the loaf pan, pour the melted butter over the top of the dough, and then place the pan in the oven to bake.

Step 7: Bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating after 30 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. 

Step 8: Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this beer bread recipe. For more delicious, quick bread recipes, check out our apple bread recipe or my moist zucchini bread.