Garlic Cheddar Cheese Beer Bread - Made with Radio From Hell Red as Hell Ale

So ever since the Radio From Hell Red as Hell Ale was introduced, I've been adding it to a number of recipes to see how it would turn out.  It works pretty darn well as a marinade ingredient for some sirloin steaks.  Just pour a cup and a half of the ale into a ziploc bag, add a little pepper, salt, rosemary, thyme, and garlic and let them soak for at least 4 hours.  Grill them up and have an awesome meal.

I also used it as the liquid in the batter for the Fish and Chips I just posted a few days ago.  The depth of the flavor enriches the batter so when mixed with the flaky white fish and the sourness of the tartar sauce,oh yes, it's amazing!

But so far, my favorite recipe is this Garlic Cheddar Beer Bread.  It's a savory bread that makes a great side dish for any meal.  And the bread only takes about an hour to make, instead of the 3-4 hours you have to dedicate to a regular loaf of bread. Just mix it, place it in the oven when you start cooking and it'll come out of the oven as you're plating your meal.

You see, this is a quick bread.  Instead of using yeast or some other biological leavening agent, we're using baking powder, a chemical leavening agent.  That means that we don't have the let the dough sit on the counter or in a cold oven for hours.  The baking powder will make it rise in the oven, just like muffins.  Muffins made with delicious, delicious beer.

The grated cheese and garlic meld themselves into the dough, making one large mass.  Now if you want more cheesy goodness, dice about 4 ounces of sharp cheddar into 1/4 inch cubes.  Stir them in and when you slice the bread open, you'll find little pockets of cheesiness throughout the loaf.

Garlic Cheddar Cheese Beer Bread - Made with Radio From Hell Red as Hell Ale

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon sage
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
3 cloves of garlic, minced
12 ounces Radio From Hell Red as Hell Ale
2 1/2 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Add the flour, salt, pepper, thyme, sugar, baking powder, garlic and cheese into a large mixing bowl and stir until well combined.  Then add the beer slowly and stir it about 20 times.  We're looking for the consistency of muffin batter, not pancake batter.  Let it sit for a couple of minutes while you grease the sides of a standard bread loaf pan.

Pour the dough into the greased pan and spread it out evenly.  Pour the melted butter over the bread and brush it evenly over the top with a pastry brush.  Sprinkle a little leftover grated cheddar cheese over the top and place it in the oven for 45-55 minutes.  When a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, it's ready to go.


So thank you Kerry, Bill and Gina (and Squatter's as well) for a wonderfully tasty beer and the inspiration for an equally tasty bread.