Hi Guys! It’s the day before thanksgiving and I’m sure everyone has their menus planned already. We have thanksgiving in Chicago, at my parents house, every year. It’s kind of funny because when I tell people we have two full thanksgiving dinners, I don’t just mean we eat turkey etc. and then nibble on the same thing a couple hours later, but we really have two whole separate meals. For the most part we have a traditional thanksgiving dinner with the usually suspects, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, veggie sides, etc; that’s dinner number one. About an hour after our turkey/ham dinner has settled in our stomachs (but not really because we tend to eat like gluttons) we have Korean dumpling soup, multiple banchans (Korean side dishes), multiple types of kimchi, a sushi platter, and a sashimi platter. About an hour after THAT we have dessert, usually consisting of multiple pies and a fruit platter. Is this strange? I used to say it was an asian thing, but I soon realized that not all my asian friends partake in the double meal ritual…..so maybe it’s just a Park family thing? Does anyone else have some not so traditional thanksgiving traditions? Whether food related or not?
Anyway, back to the food we actually have up today! BEER BREAD….and not just any beer bread….BLACK PEPPER, PARMESAN BEER BREAD. This is the easiest bread you’ll ever make…no need to wait for rises. You mix everything up, dump it into a loaf pan and bake! When Teri tried it the other week I think she gave the perfect description, “It’s very hearty, but airy”. I totally agree, this bread is actually rather dense, but when you take a bite it’s not heavy like you would expect. So if you’re in a pinch for a last minute bread recipe OR if you want a nice loaf of bread to make leftover turkey sandwiches with, like this one, I recommend this simple and delicious beauty! If you’re not into black pepper or parmesan you can omit them all together or add whatever mix-in flavors you prefer! I hope everyone has an amazing thanksgiving, filled with laughter, loved ones, good food, and plenty of booze and mocktails! xx, Jenny
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Black Pepper and Parmesan Beer Bread
INGREDIENTS
- 3 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 2 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 14 ounces (a nice flavorful) beer
- ½ cup melted unsalted butter, divided
- zest of 1 lemon (optional)
- ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 ½ to 2 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease the loaf pan and set aside.
- Place flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together.
- Create a small well in the center of the flour mixture and add beer, ¼ cup melted butter, lemon zest, parmesan, and black pepper. Stir together until the dough just comes together. Do not over mix! (if there are small flour pockets, gently stir them away; a couple remaining flour pockets are okay).
- Pour mixture into a prepared loaf pan. Pour remaining butter over top and bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the loaf.
- Remove loaf from pan and allow it to cool until just warm to the touch (about 1 hour and 30 minutes), before slicing.
- Slice and serve with whipped butter, if desired.
NOTES
- Makes 1 (9”x5” loaf)
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I hope you don’t mind, but I veganized this recipe last night. It turned out fantastic. All I had to do was substitute the butter for a vegan ‘butter’ and I changed the parmesan cheese to Daiya cheddar cheese. It was super fantastic! Thank you.
Ack! As we speak the melted butter form the top of the batter has run down and out of the pan and is smoking furiously on the bottom of the oven. And I used a large loaf pan.
Was there something I missed? Should I have flattened the beer first?
Will definitely give the butter top a miss if I try this recipe again.
Ack is right! Hmm, I didn’t have that issue while baking my loaf, but in the future you should stick your loaf pan onto a baking sheet with a lip to be safe. If you’re still nervous about the run off, you can also incorporate all but 1 tablespoon of the butter into the dough/batter and then brush the remaining tablespoon over the top. Hope your loaf still turned out yummy!
Am making these for Christmas gifts! Any idea on how baking them in mini-loaf pans changes the baking time? Thanks!
Sounds delicious!!! Anybody know the modifications to make it in a bread machine?
Thanks!
I’m wondering what kind of beer would be best. I have some Guinness in the fridge or a lighter German beer. Which one of these would be better? I have all of the ingredients though, would love to make this :)
This sounds exactly like the Crescia my Nona makes for Easter every year. It’s a traditional Italian yeast bread with parmesan (though we use Locatelli) and black pepper. You usually make it on Holy/Black Friday, when you’re not supposed to leave the house, because it has multiple rising times that equate to like 4 hours or something. So it’s great to have something to do. I sent this to all my aunts and we’re going to compare. This is great too because our crescia recipe makes three monster loaves and while delicious, definitely doesn’t help our waistlines!
HI, I would like to make this for my book club Friday night, is it okay to make it the day before, or is it best the day it is baked? Thanks so much!
You can totally make this bread the day before and it’ll still be delicious!
Thanks for this great recipe! I made it for my first Thanksgiving dinner (I’m a German girl married to an American, so I missed that tradition up to now) and it turned out GREAT!
I was a bit concerned first because I wasn’t sure which consistency the batter should have, if mine was too sticky&moist, but it turned out just YUMMY!!
So your creation is living on on the other side of the ocean, not only in my kitchen but in the ones of many of our guests too! :)
I will begin by saying I will definitely make this quick-bread again. The recipe is a bit misleading though. The yeast in the beer does VERY little (possibly nothing) in this recipe because it doesn’t have time to work it’s magic. If it did there’d be no need for the baking powder.
HOWEVER it did turn out really well for me. I had no AP flour so I used self-rising and omitted the baking powder. I also think you could do with less butter poured on the top. I poured most on top and reserved a bit to brush on after it was done baking.
Finally I would say to use about 1 tsp of black pepper, especially if you don’t crack it yourself. I admit I got lazy and used ground pepper. I believe 2 tsp. of ground pepper is a good bit more than 2 tsp. of fresh cracked pepper due to the surface area difference.
The yeast in this recipe along with the carbonation does indeed help with the rise (and airiness), although you’re correct that a good amount of the works goes to the baking powder.
I disagree about the butter, it’s meant to pool at the top pre-bake to help form a nice, light crust on the top of the loaf and adds great flavor. I couldn’t imagine adding any less!
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe and urge you to crack the pepper yourself the next time around…it makes a world of difference! :)
Amazing recipe. I made this last night along with a pot of chili. It was the perfect combination. The bread smelled so delicious as it was baking. Will definitely use this recipe again.
Making this right now (sans lemon zest) with Ommegang Hennepin. It smells delicious and it’s not even baked yet…
I made this last night, with a Maudite (Belgian strong ale) that has been rolling around my fridge. It’s a *really* good, crazy-simple bread. Mine came out pretty crumbly so I’m not sure how it would hold up for a sandwich. I used a very coarse grind and next time–and there WILL be a next time–I will use a finer grind.
This morning I toasted a slice and put a fried egg over it–AMAZING.
So I made this bread on a whim last night and my extended family and I made turkey, cranberry relish and cheddar sandwiches out of it. Best. Thing. Ever. Love love love it.
I got inspired to make this! In the oven baking right now!
Outside the kitchen, he must enjoy spending time with his two children, cooking, wine making and tending to the gardens.
Oh my gosh! What a delicious idea! This combination of flavors is so perfect, my mouth is watering.Any cheesy, peppery,beer-y bread is just perfection! You nailed it.
This sounds amazing! I feel the need to make this soon!
This bread sounds pretty amazing! I may end up making a loaf to snack on intermittently all week. Or maybe I could top a slice or two with some shredded & garlic-sauteed brussels sprouts! :)
I’ve made cheesy bread before but I would LOVE to try out beer in a bread recipe. This sounds so good, I like the “hearty but airy” description!
I feel full reading this post… oh my! Happy Thanksgiving!!
Looks so good! On my to-do list :)
Ive wanted to make beer and/or cheese bread for ages and yours looks like what I need to make!
My husband’s family is Jamaican-Chinese American (ie: his parents are ethnically Chinese, born in Jamaica and immigrated here as young adults). Thanksgiving includes the best of all three cultures/cuisines. So your celebration sounds totally normal to me. ;-)
Love that I have all these ingredients in my pantry already! Totally making this today. Happy Thanksgiving!!
I want this for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Oh my!