Monday, August 26, 2013

Jalapeno Cheddar Beer Bread



Quick breads are a godsend. Always better than that commercial crap out there and takes hardly any skill and time to make. Seriously, just toss in the cheddar, beer, flour, jalapenos, etc, and you got yourself a quick beer bread.
Coop Ale Works "Native Amber"

I used a local amber ale with this. Coop Ale Works “Native Amber” is a smooth brew with grassy hop notes. Great beer to pair with spicey foods and sharp cheddar. The affinity of this beer and bread was fantastic.

Two things to remember with this….mix by hand, or the bread will be too tough when finished. And only mix until just incorporated, or the bread will be too tough when finished.

Ingredients:
2.25 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp chili powder
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1-1.5 cups of fresh grated sharp cheddar cheese (I love cheese)
2 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, and diced
12oz of amber ale (room temp)



*NOTE* You could also make these into biscuits or muffins. Just reduce the bake time by half or more and check with a toothpick in the center until it comes out clean

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a bread pan with butter and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift in the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, salt, and chili powder. Set aside.
In another large bowl, add in the melted butter, beer, diced jalapenos and cheddar cheese.

Add all the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, a third at a time, mixing between with a spatula until just incorporated. Pour the dough into the bread pan. Smooth out the top just a tad. And top with a little more grated cheese.

Place in oven and bake for 45min, or until a knife inserted in the center of bread comes out clean. And done!

Slice thick or thin. It looks kinda dense, but it’s really not. It’s mainly the cheese. haha. Enjoy with some butter, breakfast, sausages, cheese, some good ‘ol country food like brown beans and ham, etc. And of course, some good brews.