Sam's View

Last week the Melbourne weatherman told me that we were in for a cold and wet weekend. I thought that nothing would be nicer than some home-made soup (recipe to follow soon-ish) and bread on Sunday evening. Let me say that yeast scares me. I see the whole waiting-until-the-dough-expands thing as an additional step in the baking process that could end in disaster. My mum seldom bakes bread for the same reason (it must be a genetic fear). So maybe when I become a better cook, I will venture into the unpredictable lands of yeast and fluffy light bread, but for now booze will have to do!

On Saturday I had all of the ingredients ready and then realised that it would also be the perfect thing to take a along to a barbeque that evening (I still can’t stop calling them braai’s, my South African friends will be happy to know). I knew that it would be high-risk trying a recipe for the first time and taking it to guests as it could end up being a major flop. I could not, however, have hoped for a better result. Everyone loved it!!

For this reason, I am sharing the secret to the world’s quickest, easiest and (in my view) flop-proof bread recipe.

CHEESE BEER BREAD

Ingredients:

500g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp salt
3tbsp castor sugar
125g cheddar cheese
340ml beer (a can in South Africa, just less than a can everywhere else!)
50ml sesame or sunflower seeds

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C
• Grease a small loaf tin
• Sift flour, sugar and salt together in a mixing bowl
• Stir in the cheese and beer (you can add a little water if the dough is still too dry)
• Mix until all the flour has been moistened and the dough forms a cohesive mass. I had to use my hands for this. Do not over-knead!
• Transfer the dough to the loaf tin, sprinkle with seeds and place in the pre-heated oven
• Test with a skewer after about one hour when the top is golden brown – if the skewer comes out clean, remove from oven
• Leave for 15 minutes to cool
• Serve with plenty of butter

After feeling rather proud of my efforts the night before, I decided to make my next loaf of bread slightly different. I remember as a child that my mum used onion soup in the bread she baked. I also read up on how some people who used dark / stout beer in their recipe absolutely loved the result. So taking all of this into account, I came up with the following variation on a firm favourite…drum roll…

CHEESE AND ONION DARK BEER BREAD

Ingredients

500g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp salt
3tbsp castor sugar
340ml stout / dark beer (a can in South Africa, just less than a can everywhere else!)
1 packet dry brown onion gravy mix
1 large onion, finely chopped
125g cheddar, grated
1/3 cup butter, melted

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C

• Grease a small loaf tin
• Saute the onions and set aside to cool
• Sift flour and salt together in a mixing bowl
• Add dry gravy mix
• Stir in the beer (you can add a little water if the dough is too dry)
• Mix until all the flour has been moistened and the dough forms a cohesive mass. I had to use my hands for this. Do not over-knead!
• Transfer the dough to the loaf tin
• Pour melted butter on top if dough and place in the pre-heated oven (place a baking tray below to prevent the butter from messing as the loaf rises. Otherwise just use a slightly larger tin)
• Test with a skewer after about one hour when the top is golden brown – if the skewer comes out clean, remove from oven. I took mine out after 45 minutes because it looked done.
• Leave for 15 minutes to cool
• Serve with plenty of butter

There really is no excuse for anyone not to give this a try! It is cheap and so quick to do. Please let me know how it goes! Also, if you have any other variations to suggest, please leave a comment! ENJOY!

Cheese Beer Bread Recipe Source: Cooksister