
This easy Beer Bread Recipe is a classic that has been handed down for generations in our family. I love the simplicity of a 4 ingredient quick bread. In just one hour you can have warm, fluffy, buttery, soft bread. You can also make dinner rolls with this recipe.
This is comfort food at its best. It’s great for dinner because the ingredients are usually something you have in your pantry and it’s nearly fail-proof. For this recipe, there is no rise, no kneading, and no yeast needed.
4 ingredients for easy Beer Bread
- Self Rising Flour – see how to make your own below
- Sugar
- Beer – choose your favorite
- Butter – actually optional, but makes it so much tastier!
What is self-rising flour and how to make your own
Self-rising flour is essential for many baked goods. It is just regular flour with baking powder and salt already added in. The baking powder acts as a leavening agent in conjunction with the sugar and the beer in this beer bread recipe. It’s easy to find self-rising flour on the shelves but I make my own most of the time.
Here is the easy formula for making self-rising flour:
One cup all-purpose flour + 1-1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
+ 1/2 teaspoon salt
Stir vigorously together to make sure everything is well blended before using in recipes
How to make Beer Bread
- Combine self-rising flour and sugar in a large bowl
- If including any additional herbs or flavorings add-in now (see list of suggestions below)
- Slowly pour in your favorite beer and let the mixture sit for 1 minute
- Mix until all of the flour is absorbed but do not overmix
- The mixture will be very sticky
- Add to a prepared loaf pan
- Cook for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and pour melted butter over the top. Return to the oven and bake another 15 minutes.
- Adding the butter is optional, or you can decrease the amount added if you prefer, but the baking time remains one hour total
- Let cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing
- Store tightly wrapped for about 3 days at room temperature
Adding beer to flour and sugar mixture Beer foaming into flour and sugar
What beer is best for Beer Bread?
When deciding which beer to use for the bread think about what type of beer you like. I recommend an ale type beer but anything will work. The more yeast in your beer the more the bread will rise during baking. The end result of the bread depends on the type of beer. Try something fun like honey ale, brown ale, or pumpkin ale if you have it on hand.
Alcohol substitution for beer bread
The yeast in the beer is needed for the bread to rise, but not the alcohol. We made it with Beck’s non-alcoholic beer and it was fantastic.
Adding other flavors to the bread
The great thing about this simple beer bread recipe is how many add-ins you can use. I suggest using about 1 tablespoon of dried herbs or 3 tablespoons of fresh herbs, cheese, or bacon. Here are some ideas:
- Chives or scallions
- Fresh dill
- Italian seasonings, garlic powder, or any dried herb
- Garlic, minced
- Cheddar, Gruyere or parmesan – shredded
- Small pieces of bacon
- Honey
Making Beer Bread Rolls:
Beer bread dinner rolls could not be simpler. Using the same recipe take these few steps:
- Grease round, square or rectangle pan
- With floured hands form rolls with about 3 tablespoons dough
- Drop into prepared pan. It’s ok if the rolls are touching
- Bake for 20 minutes
- Remove pan from oven and drizzle rolls with melted butter
- Sprinkle with add-ins such as shredded Parmesan and parsley
- Bake for additional 15 minutes and cool for 10 minutes before serving
Beer bread rolls to bake Pouring butter over rolls Add Parmesan & Parsley
Try beer bread with these delicious soups and stews:
Other easy bread recipes:
Delicious served with our flavored compound butters
Beer Bread with 4 Ingredients
Equipment
- Loaf Pan, 8.5" x 4.5" or 9"x5", or 3 mini loaf pans
Ingredients
- 3 cups Self Rising Flour
- 4 Tbsp Sugar
- 12 oz Beer, Non-alcoholic Beck's works also
- ¼ cup butter, melted
Add Ins for Rolls
- 3 Tbsp shredded Parmesan
- 1 Tbsp parsely leaf, roughly chopped
Instructions
Instructions for Bread:
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Lightly coat a loaf pan with non-stick spray or butter
- Blend self-rising flour and sugar together. If using any other add-ins (like herbs or cheese) mix them in now.
- Slowly pour in the beer. Allow mixture to sit for one minute
- Mix to combine until just blended. Do not overmix.
- Melt butter and set aside.
- Add batter to prepared pan. Cook for 45 minutes.Remove bread from the oven and pour melted butter over the top of the bread.Return to oven and bake for 15 more minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 15-minutes before removing from pan and slicing.
- Store at room temperature, tightly wrapped, for about 3 days.
Instructions for Beer Bread Dinner Rolls:
- Grease 2 round, 2 square or 1 large rectangle baking dish with non-stick spray or butter.
- Make rolls by dropping rounds of about 3 tablespoons into pan. It's ok if the rolls are touching. The dough is sticky so you may need to flour your hands to shape rolls.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle melted butter over the rolls.Sprinkle shredded parmesan and chopped parsley.
- Bake for an additional 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Tawnie Kroll
Thank you for the yummy recipe!!
Emily Liao
This looks amazing! I love the idea of the parmesan mini rolls as well – will definitely be trying this over the weekned!
Abigail Raines
I love the idea of making these into rolls! My little girl who is the baker in our family would love to make this. So many yummy options, too.
Charla @ That Girl Cooks Healthy
I love that you only need a small amount of ingredients to make this delicious looking bread.
Candice
I love that this recipe only has for ingredients and that I already had them! It was shockingly easy to make, and the bread is absolutely delicious. We finished the whole loaf the first day. Thank you for the recipe!
Deb H
This is a wonderful last minute bread since we have all the ingredients on hand, made it with the non alcoholic Becks and it was just as good
Alisa Infanti
I made this and had it with soup the other night and it was perfect!
Pam
Yes! The fewer ingredients in a recipe the better. Can’t wait to try this.
Charla @ That Girl Cooks Healthy
I’m partial to a bit of bread, I love my carbs! Please send the whole loaf my way for me to eat, guilt free.
Jayne
Ha! Calories don’t count right now 🙂
Lois Jenkins
Absolutely delish. Makes for toast and Jam also.
Kushigalu
Love how simple and delicious this bread is with 4 ingredients. Yum!
Dannii
Oh this sounds amazing. Definitely one to try this week.