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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.
Robin Brown says
We love this recipe. We have even modified it and added bacon, sharp cheddar and candied jalapeรฑos.
Karly says
Sounds delicious!! ๐
Gabrielle A says
Fantastique !!! I can’t stop making this. I am obsessed with this bread. I prefer the modelo. I tried an IPA beer and it was bitter…but easy recipe, so good!!!
Karly says
Thanks for sharing! ๐
Jen says
Do you use regular flour or self rising?
Karly says
Plain all purpose flour.
Cher Audry says
This is the best recipe EVER! Easy and tastes so good. Definitely making again.
Karly says
Thanks, Cher!
Suzanne Woodring says
My husband and I really liked this recipe. I love the crust on top.
Faith says
I definitely want to try this with beer, but I was curious can you try this with a cider?
Karly says
I’ve only tried it with beer, but a hard cider may work!
Cathy says
Buttery, salty, sweet delicious goodness!!!!
Karly says
Thanks, Cathy!
Lianne says
Iโm getting short on butter. ย Would using less or half oil make a difference in the loaf?
Thanksย
Karly says
I haven’t tested it so I can’t say for sure. You’d probably be fine using oil in the pan instead of butter, but I’m not certain.
sabrina says
ha, love this, had never heard of using beer, but makes sense, wonder if different styles of beer have different results, guess it depends on how it was brewed, thank you for sharing this
Anne Streit says
She tried it and said it was really crumbly. Is there anything she could add to make it less crumbly.
Karly says
Hi Anne! She tried making it with Bisquick and it was crumbly? Or she tried making it as directed? Bisquick isn’t the same as flour – it has added ingredients that you’d need to account for when making the recipe. I’m not sure how she’d save it.
Colleen Carlson says
Absolutely love this recipe! So easy and so good!!!!
Karly says
Thanks, Colleen! So glad you gave it a try!
Anne Streit says
A friend asked me if she could use bisquick instead.
Cindy says
If I reduce the sugar, will it still rise?
Karly says
Yes, but I wouldn’t go below 1/4 cup. ๐
Linda says
Oh My!!!! Kinda had some doubts about this rising but it came out amazing!!! Super crunchy crust and EASY!! I had to make 2 loaves as Hubby is bread and candy lover and I wanted a slice or two!! DELICIOUS!!!
Karly says
Yay!! I’m so glad to hear that, Linda!!
Connie Currier says
If I want to add Cheese…How much and what changes in the recipe?
Karly says
Hi Connie! I haven’t tested this with cheese, but I’d probably stir in a cup of shredded cheese without any other changes and see how that went.