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Our soft, buttery Beer Bread recipe is a quick bread that bakes with no yeast! This easy beer bread recipe has a buttery crust with a nice soft, dense crumb. It is perfect for serving alongside soup or for slathering in butter and jam.
Whether you’re intimidated by baking with yeast or you just don’t have any on hand, this beer bread recipe is the perfect solution to your bread needs! No yeast needed!
And, hey, even if you do have yeast and are a total pro at making homemade bread (like our quick dinner rolls or dutch oven bread), this beer bread is still worthy of your attention, because it. is. good.
That buttery crust. The dense interior.
The pile of melty butter. <— Okay, a pile of butter isn’t required, but actually it is, because warm bread + butter is the most soul satisfying food I know of! Really level up by trying this with bacon butter.
This is an easy beer bread recipe with just 6 ingredients, so let’s get started!
What Is Beer Bread?
Beer bread is a type of quick bread that is super simple to prepare and doesn’t require any yeast or waiting for the dough to rise.
The carbonation in the beer works as a leavening agent in place of the yeast, and the baking powder helps with that too.
It’s a soft, dense, crumbly bread with a crisp crust that is great for serving alongside soup, chili, or with your favorite jam.
We love to serve this with something hearty, like our Instant Pot Turkey Chili or something simple, like tomato soup recipe.
Ingredient Notes:
Flour – Just plain all purpose flour works great here. You could try using half white and half whole wheat, if that’s your style.
Beer – We prefer an IPA here, but use whatever you like to drink.
Butter – You’ll need some melted butter for brushing the pan and the bread.
Sugar
Baking Powder
Salt
What We Love About This BEER BREAD Recipe:
- Simple: It doesn’t get much easier than this beer bread when it comes to making homemade bread. No worrying about kneading, waiting for yeast to activate, or for dough to rise.
- Taste & Texture: The beer adds a bit of flavor and the texture of the bread is soft but dense. It has just the right texture for serving with pretty much any soup, chili, or stew!
- Quick: Because there is no yeast, you go from mixing straight to baking, which cuts down on the time. This beer bread is ready in just 1 hour.
How To Make Beer Bread:
Prepare: First, you’ll want to butter a loaf pan. We like a nice buttery crust in this house, so we’re not shy about it.
Dry Ingredients: Then you’ll just whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Beer: Pour in your favorite beer until you have a nice dough and then transfer that to your loaf pan.
Bake: You’re going to want a bit more melted butter to brush over the top. Then pop this in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes.
Serve: And obviously, right after it comes out of the oven you’re going to brush it with just a little more butter. I’m sorry, but this is how life works.
The crust will get golden and gorgeous, the interior will be soft and miraculous, the smells happening inside your house will make your cry actual tears. <- Happy tears, of course.
Just make this bread, you guys. It’s a winner!
What To Serve With Beer Bread:
We like to serve this up in nice thick slices, but you can use this beer bread to make sandwiches, just slice a little thinner.
There are two routes to take here and only you can choose the right one…savory or sweet.
If you’re feeling like serving this up with some savory soups or stews, may I recommend this crockpot broccoli cheese soup, crockpot potato soup, or Instant Pot vegetable soup? Give this Rustic Tuscan Tortellini Soup a try!
We’re also big fans of dunking pieces of the beer bread in this ham and bean soup.
If you’d like to go the sweet route, I recommend warm bread, a thick smear of butter, and as much homemade jam as you can handle. I haven’t shared my homemade raspberry jam yet, but look for it to come this summer!
My crockpot apple butter would also go well on this bread and makes for a nice fall treat, or try my cinnamon honey butter any time of year.
FAQ’s:
You can keep this bread stored in an airtight container at room temperature for about 3 days! It can also be frozen for up to a few months.
It depends on the type of beef that you use. A lighter beer will have a milder flavor, a darker beer will be more robust. We prefer a lighter beer for a more general use bread that is good with jam or as a sandwich and a darker beer when we want to serve this with a hearty soup.
Nope! The carbonation will actually help bread rise and improve the texture.
More Homemade Bread Recipes!
Beer Bread
Ingredients
- 12 ounces beer room temperature
- 3 cups flour
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 6 tablespoons melted butter divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9×5 loaf pan with two tablespoons of melted butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Add beer and mix until well combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Drizzle 2 tablespoons of butter over the top of the bread.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown.
- Brush the top of the bread with the remaining melted butter while the loaf is still warm.
Janet L Howard says
I made this yesterday and I love it and it was so buttery and had a little taste of beer in it
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks, Janet!
Margie McGee says
May I ask what brand of beer you used?
Karly Campbell says
Honestly, I grab whatever my husband tells me to out of the fridge. Haha. It’s usually Samuel Adams or Fat Tire! 🙂
Joy says
this is so great. But could you make it so we could print. I have to copy and put on a word so I can copy.
Thank You
Karly Campbell says
Hi Joy! There is a print button in the recipe card that will print out just the recipe for you.
Bonnie says
I’ve made this many times, it is SO good! This time I accidentally mixed the butter into the batter instead of pouring on top, I hope it works out ok
Saiza says
I just made this bread last Saturday and it was phenomenal!!! I never realized beer bread was that easy lol. It was delicious, moist, fluffy, absolutely wonderful!!
Karly says
I’m so glad you gave it a try!
Bunny Redenbaugh says
How do you think non-alcoholic ginger beer would work in this recipe?
Karly says
It should work fine as far as the bread rising, but I’m not sure how it would taste. I’ve never had ginger beer, so not sure on the flavor. 🙂