Beer Bread

This one is easy.

One 11-12 oz can of beer.
Cheap beers work just as good as expensive ones.
Besides, what beer loving afficionado wants to see a perfectly good bottle of great beer get tossed into the cooking pot?


Two TBSP of sugar

Three cups of self-rising flour.

A touch of lard.


I cook this in a #12 size cast iron flat lid Dutch Oven and suspect it may work in a #8.
It would probably work ok in a large cast iron skillet with lid.
As well as a Dutch Oven with raised lid.


Put the flour and sugar into a mixing bowl, mix dry.

Pour the beer in, instructions originally said to mix it 17 times with a wooden spoon, but I find that's not enough.
The thinking is, too much mixing will make the bread tough, but I find that it doesn't matter.
What does matter is that it's well mixed.
Consider it well mixed when the mixture becomes a cohesive lump of dough.

Grease the bottom and sides of the Dutch Oven interior with lard on a clean paper towel.
It helps a well seasoned Dutch Oven to remain well seasoned.

Toss the glob of mixed dough into the Dutch Oven and leave it as is . . . just a lump of dough in the middle.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook on the middle rack for one hour, 15 minutes.


This time and temperature work at altitudes of 350' where I used to live and 3300' where I now live.

Always a hit, serve with butter and honey.



Fwiw, you can find old cast iron Dutch Ovens at most swap meets for just a few bucks.

My latest try with this simple recipe was in a #10 cast iron Dutch Oven.
This one, a large pot looking Dutch Oven with flat bottom and round top.

The one noted in the post above has the flat lid designed to hold coals on top and three skinny little legs - which I sawed off long ago.

Since the #10 Dutch Oven should be re-seasoned - yard sale special - I used one layer of aluminum foil in the bottom.

Makes life easy when the bread is ready to come out.


I'm wondering if anyone has tried this.

I fear the utter simplicity of the recipe may have put some off.

Even if it's a total disaster, not much is lost $$-wise.

Give it a try, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

And I'd like to hear what you think if you've already tried it....

[edit on 25-9-2008 by Desert Dawg]

Hello there. I just made 2 batches just a few hours ago. Very very good. You get an A++++!!!! The first one I made is already gone it was so good. Thank you for this excellent recipe. I do hope more people try it and share in the joy that it brought me and my family.

Pleased to hear that you liked it.

I think the overly simple recipe is off-putting to a few, but it works well and has yet to fail.


Interestingly, I made a batch last night. (Makes good toast as well.)

Along with a home-made large noodles chicken soup that turned out very good.

I used the #10 round top dutch oven for the second time to make the bread.

It appears that you need to be fairly exact with the measurements.
I got a little sloppy with scooping the flour into a one cup measuring cup and had too much flour.
Easily rectified with a little more beer so that it mixed up to the correct consistency.

When I took it out of the oven it was about five minutes from being done.
I left it on a top burner with the lid on and due to cast irons heat retaining capabilities it finished cooking just fine.


I'm curious as to what you used to bake the bread in?