Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Pepper and Jack Beer Bread

Hard to believe I've been writing about bread for this long and I haven't written about beer bread. There are probably a billion different recipes, and of course the beer you choose makes a difference. I decided to use a very mild beer and add flavors elsewhere.

My inspiration came from the farmer's market. When you shop early, you get your pick of the crops, and you have a chance to get items that might sell out. If you shop later, you can get better deals.

Last weekend, I was filling my bag with bargain produce when one of the stand workers handed me a bag of freshly roasted peppers. "For you," he said.

Okay, it wasn't just me. He handed out a couple bags to other shoppers. They were giving away the last of the roasted peppers so they wouldn't have to pack them up at the end of the shopping day. To be honest, I'm not sure what kind of peppers they are. I think they might be hot Hungarian wax peppers, but really any pepper will do in this recipe. Even jarred roasted peppers.

And then I grabbed some Monterrey Jack cheese from the fridge to pair with my peppers. Perfect.

Pepper and Jack Beer Bread

3 cups (13 1/2 ounces) all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 ounces Monterrey Jack (or similar) cheese, cubed
3 fire roasted pepper, seeded and diced (about 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces beer

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray a loaf pan with baking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine - you don't want clumps of baking powder in the bread. Add the cheese and peppers and stir to distribute.

In a small pan, melt the butter and honey together. Add this to the flour mixture. Add the beer to the flour mixture and stir until everything is incorporated. Transfer the mixture to the loaf pan and spread it somewhat evenly in the pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for one hour. If you like, about 5 minutes before the bread is done, scrape up the remaining bits of butter and honey from the pan where you melted them, and brush this on top of the bread to encourage browning. If  you don't have enough butter left in the pan, melt a little more.

Let the bread cool on a rack before slicing.
Yum

6 comments:

Jordan said...

Hi, can I assume that these proportions will work at high altitude (Denver)? Thank you.

Donna Currie said...

You're just a few miles down the road. It will work just fine.

Sally said...

Looks delish!

Not being a beer fan, I'm wondering how pronounced the flavor is in the bread or if anything can be substituted?

Thanks

Donna Currie said...

If you use a mild beer, you won't notice it at all. It adds a bit of a yeasty flavor, but not a strong beer flavor.

The Undercover Cook said...

Is that a bell pepper or another type of pepper in your recipe? It looks very tasty!

Donna Currie said...

I'm pretty sure it was a Hungarian Wax. I got them already fire roasted at the farmer's market and it's kind of hard to detrmine the original shape once they're all soft and flat.

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