Beer not served in a mug!

I don't own a bread machine and have never wanted to own one. I have heard the pros (homemade bread all the time, the house always smells so good) and the cons (I gained weight from eating and smelling the homemade bread all the time, it takes up space and now I don't use it anymore). I don't love working with yeast dough so I was really happy when Panera's moved into town a few years ago. But every now and then I come across a recipe that does not require yeast and is easy, good and not a sweet quick bread. This is one of those recipes. A couple of the home parties I have attended have these Beer Bread mixes that are convenient and good, but still have those pesky preservatives. And they want you to pour a whole lot of butter over the top, so that makes it even less figure friendly.

This particular recipe is quite nice for a weeknight dinner and doesn't require a lot of work or time. I have mixed all the dry ingredients together in the morning and covered the bowl or put them in a zip-loc bag. When I get home, I only have to grease the pan, add beer to the mix, pour into the loaf pan and pop into the oven. In an hour I have a nice fresh bread to go with a salad, soup or stew. You can even add some dill to this or some crushed red pepper for some kick and it is really good. And depending on the kind of beer you use it will take on a different flavor. So experiment! And the bonus is that you know what went into this bread with no preservatives!!

Beer Bread

Stir Together:

3 cups unsifted white flour

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1-1/4 tsp salt

Gradually add:

12 oz. beer at room temperature

Pour into a well greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until loaf is brown on the bottom and sounds hollow when you thump it.