This is a fairly good beer bread recipe, and I read most of the reviews here before I tried it. The texture and finish of my loaf was good... the top crust was a little crunchy even though I added melted butter before putting it in the oven. The taste of the finished loaf was slightly salty/bitter, but it would work well with soups and chilis for sure. The beer choice for this recipe will have a profound impact on the flavor, especially if bitterness is an issue. I chose to use Alleycat Amber Ale from The Lost Coast Brewery & Cafe in my recipe. This beer only has a very slight hop bitterness to it, and I didn't think it would be enough to translate into the bread flavor, but it could have. I'm going to modify this recipe and try it again. I'm not very happy with the suggested 4.5 teaspoons of baking powder. That could be another source of bitterness. I think I may make this again with self-rising flour in place of the all-purpose flour with the added baking powder and salt. I really think this would make a better bread...
Update: January 3, 2009
I made another loaf of this bread today. I replaced the all-purpose flour, salt, and baking power with just 1 1/2 cups of self-rising flour and the bread tastes MUCH better. On the nit-pick level, if you choose to modify the recipe this way, you might want to add no more than 1/2 teaspoon of salt. I also added 1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. The results are delicious :)
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