Garlic and Herbs Beer Bread

My mission to purge the fridge continues.

Some of the obstacles (or second chance recipes opportunities) are the cans of beer taking up semi-permanent residence over the last year. B is more a wine than beer drinker (he bought it for guests) and I don’t really drink unless I want to try something.

I have been itching to make beer bread for some time. It seemed easy to make – and since B had recently gifted me with a KitchenAid that has a dough hook, I’m set to go. The main reason why I am ‘set to go’ a lot instead of being defeated by many of my failed attempts at cooking, was that B had been so supportive in my journey. There are places he won’t go – for example, the man won’t touch squid. But he’s been very encouraging and although he is bemused by my cooking decisions being governed with what ingredients are left over or what is on sale rather than what I feel like eating, he generally laps up the dishes and desserts and complements me when they turn out well. In fact, the reason that I am writing the blog posts on the dishes I’ve tried was his idea to begin with. And taking the time to write out the dishes I’ve tried, I can see that I have become more confident in cooking and willing to try – and most of the later dishes turned out well. His support is the single most important reason why I have cooked and baked more in these six months than I ever had in more than three decades.

Okay, back to regular programming.

When the Farmgirl says making beer bread is beyond easy, I'm sold!

True to her word, the bread that comes out of the oven smells so good and I am so amazed I made it. Who...me? Yes...me!

For those of you who are not too keen on beer, don’t be too quick to dismiss this recipe. I took a quick swipe of the beer and decided it is not something that would go down my throat willingly. But with the garlic, cheese and herbs, I didn’t taste the beer much. This bread is very hearty, good to eat it on its own or with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, which is how I usually eat bread.


You may want to pair it up with soups too.

The next morning, I spread my alfredo sauce on the slices and had it microwaved on low for a minute or so, and it was still scrumptious.

Here's now I made it:

Leading Leftover: Beer

Garlic and Herbs Beer Bread

3 cups flour, mixed (self-raising and wholemeal)
12 ounces liquid (beer and whey)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 chopped cloves of garlic
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan

Heat the oven to 190 degrees celsius.

Sift 2 1/2 cups of self-raising with 1/2 wholemeal flour and combine in mixing bowl.


Add the parmesan and garlic to the flour.


Add the herbs - dried basil and dried oregano.

Slowly stir in the beer and mix just until combined.

Spread in a greased 8-inch loaf pan. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Serve warm.

The results:

Look at how hearty the bread is! The texture is divine...


It's crunchy crust...

Crunch, crunch!!

Line the slices up in a row if it makes your day.

Get up close and smell the bread...it will make your day too!

I know there are so many different ways to make beer bread so going to experiment with that, and may even try it with the ginger ale. One can down, 5 more to go!

What would The Failed Chef do next time?

• Bake at a lower temperature for a longer time of 175 degrees for 50 for 60 minutes
• Add in the tablespoon of sugar since I've omitted it, just to see what sugar does to the bread. Taste-wise omitting sugar was fine - never missed it.
• Pour 1/4 cup (wow, that's a lot!) melted butter over mixture to see what it does to the crust. Or pouring it into the batter to see what it does to the bread inside.
• Because the wholemeal flour doesn't have its baking powder/ soda or yeast, I may bother to add some next time. The whey doesn't have its own yeast as well, so I may either add yeast, or open another can to make up the 12 ounces.