Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Honey Beer Bread & Grilled Beer and Cheese Sandwiches

One cooking memory that is distinctly contained in my head is the first time I made beer bread. I was well underage, holding what I recall now as a Budweiser over a bowl of flour. I mixed, I baked, I ate... I spit it out. Yep, not the best cooking memory. I don't know what I did to maul such a carbohydrate, but I was pretty inexperienced then and I'm sure I botched just about every step of the process.

My love: BUTTER!
Well, a lot of time has passed between now and then and things have changed. I love beer for its slight bitterness, tang and distinctive scent. I love bread for its soft interior and comforting chew. Together, I think they create something that I not only love, I adore. I attempted beer bread again and I was pleasantly surprised with how delicious it was. Soft, a bit sweet from the honey with a gorgeous browned crust. Beer bread is a bit more dense than others and has a different texture than your typical loaf, but it's easy to learn to love. 
Yeasty-beer-butter-goodness:
If you're in the mood for bread and have a fear of yeast like I do (as documented here): make this! It's easy as can be. Combine, mix, bake, slice, enjoy! Really, that's it. My ultimate favorite thing about beer bread is that it actually tastes like beer. When you pull it out of the oven, the distinctive smell of beer rushes into your nostrils. You sneak a taste and there it is, beer. It's awesome. Plus, if you make this honey beer bread, you can use it to make the utterly divine goodness that is grilled beer and cheese sandwiches (below). You... will... not... regret... it. Not one bit!
Slices like a dream...


Honey Beer Bread
Yields: 1 loaf
Original recipe here.

3 cups flour
2 tbsn. sugar
1 tbsn. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsn. warm honey
1 bottle (12 oz.) beer
4 tbsn. butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9x5" loaf pan, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed, DO NOT OVER MIX! Pour half of the melted butter into the loaf pan. Spoon the batter into the pan and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until the top of the loaf is golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

I think the sole purpose of beer bread is to be made into this sandwich. Being a grilled beer and cheese sandwich is the life calling of beer bread. If only we all knew what our life purposes were; life would be so simple! Combine worcestershire-caramelized onions, cheese and beer bread and you really can't get any better than that. I challenge you, I really challenge you to try to make something more delicious. 
Ooey, gooey, crispy, creamy, tangy, sweet, crunchy deliciousness:

Grilled Beer and Cheese Sandwich
Yields: 4 servings
Adapted from here.

1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 tbsn. olive oil
1 tbsn. Worcestershire sauce
4 tbsn. Dijon mustard
4 slices fontina cheese
4 slices cheddar cheese
8 slices homemade beer bread (recipe above)
salt and pepper
oregano, fresh or dried

In a medium pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute until they begin to wilt. Add the worcestershire sauce, some fresh oregano (if using dried, use sparingly), and salt and pepper, to taste. Reduce the heat to medium and cook slowly until the onions start to caramelize and gain color. Once done, set aside. Spread 1 tbsn. of mustard on 4 slices of the beer bread. Pair up the bread slices. Top half of them with a slice of fontina cheese and the other half with a slice of cheddar cheese. Sprinkle with some pepper, then divide the caramelized onion among one side. Top with the other paired bread slice and grill, panini press or George Foreman the sandwiches until golden brown, cheesy, and thoroughly heated throughout. Enjoy!


Yea, this is for real.

25 comments:

  1. I've never had beer bread before! I imagine it's a crowd pleaser though!

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    1. Beer bread is the best. It's so dense. My husband and friends opened a brewery a year ago so I get to try beer bread with many different kinds of beer.
      it's great!!!

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  2. That bread, especially when it's combined with melted cheese and oregano, looks heavenly. I'm a big fan of beer bread, but I haven't tried a recipe quite like yours yet!

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  3. I'm sure if that makes "man" sammies but they sure look delicious.

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  4. Somehow you've made beer seem so classy through your pictures and recipe!

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  5. Hold on a second while I put my tongue back in my mouth.

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  6. I wish someone would put a plate of that in front of me pronto. And green peppercorn beer? Now, that's intriguing!

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  7. Love beer bread. Thanks for this idea.

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  8. Thanks for linking to me. Grilled cheese beer bread sounds amazing. I'm going to have to make this for the boyfriend!

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  9. Oooh, yum. I've never seen the technique for onions caramelized with Worcestershire sauce, but I'm going to give that a try the next time I cook onions down. These sandwiches look divine. I'd imagine the beer lends a somewhat "yeast-y" flavor to an otherwise yeast-less bread.

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  10. What an interesting recipe! Making bread is hard to master but looks really successful.

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  11. I usually make honey & beer bread ("Pain maison alla birra di Thierry" in my blog) but with no butter. And I love it! I'll try your recipe, too. Thanks

    sabrine

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  12. Honey and beer bread is good enough all by itself but adding that beautiful cheese and grilling it up puts it on a whole new level. I must have one!

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  13. ZOMG I've made beer bread several times and love how quick and tasty it is. I can't believe I've never thought to make grilled cheese with it. GEN-I-US!!

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  14. This bread looks amazing. I have a recipe for Beer & Chili Prawns that it would be fantastic with for dinner. Thanx!

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  15. Holy Toledo! I just made this bread and it is fantastic (used Fat Tire ale). Next up is to make the sandwich and am very much looking forward to it. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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  16. That looks like the most amazing sandwich ever. Must.Make.Now.

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  17. Made the bread and the sandwich this weekend! Great recipe - will have to try varying the beer type to see what happens with the results. Posted on my blog along with some pictures at http://www.stevem.net/2011/02/honey-beer-bread.html

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  18. What a lovely blog and that looks so good! What sort of beer should I use? Does it matter? :)

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  19. @ Mickan: thanks so much :)

    it doesn't matter what kind of beer you use, but preferably something tasty, or something you like!

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  20. Made this tonight with an amber ale and it was seriously one of the best things I've EVER made. DELISH. Thank you!

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  21. The one thing to avoid is a super bitter beer, like an American-style IPA. Dark beers can do real nice things - very different from an amber ale or pilsner, but very good in a different way.

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  22. I tried your recipe and it is truly amazing! the best bread I have had in, well ever possibly. I substituted maple syrup for the honey and added a bit more beer and cheese on top, plus some black pepper, but ooooh my goodness, it was good. The only thing I would say is that I prefer it baked on a bigger pan because it increases the amount of the oh so delicious crust. Making it again tomorrow! and it's so simple too! :) Thank you

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  23. This looks amazing! I’m going to have to try it soon. Thanks for sharing.

    -------------
    Sandy

    Liqours

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  24. I'm making this now in two mini loaf pans. I'm out of honey so I doubled up on sugar (I love sweet bread) and I used brown sugar instead. Subbed half the flour for whole wheat, and using a Magic Hat seasonal beer, Heart of Darkness Stout. Ground salt and black pepper, garlic powder, basil, and dehydrated onions on top. It's baking as I type this. I have baby Swiss and aged cheddar, and I'm going to saute shrooms with my onions for my grilled cheese. Can't wait to clog my arteries! :)

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