Cheddar Beer Bread with Onion and Rosemary

This savory Cheddar Beer Bread with Onion and Rosemary comes together quickly and is perfect to go with soups, stews, or just sliced and slathered in butter. It’s effortless to make (no kneading required!) and has a pleasantly chewy crust and tender crumb. And it’s super-flavorful, too, with the addition of rosemary, dried minced onions, chives, and sharp cheddar cheese. (And if you like quick and easy homemade bread recipes, check out my recipe for Maple Corn Muffins.)

So why add beer to a bread recipe, and what does adding beer to bread do?

If you’re unfamiliar with beer bread, you might wonder why anyone would want to make bread with beer. Flavor is the first, and maybe the most obvious answer. Beer adds a malty, slightly sweet flavor to the bread. And the stronger the flavor profile of the beer you use, the more pronounced it will be in your bread. So even if you don’t like to drink beer, you may still like beer bread, especially if you go with a very light, mild-tasting beer.

And beer and bread have a lot in common; they are two of the oldest foods in the history of civilization, and notably, two of the oldest fermented foods. This leads us to the second reason for adding beer to bread: yeast. Yeast is used in making both beer and bread. In the case of beer bread, the yeast in the beer contributes to the leavening process, helping the bread to rise.

However, because the yeast content in beer varies, we can’t rely solely on beer to make the bread rise. To avoid ending up with a flat loaf, we use chemical leavening, in this case baking powder, to help the loaf rise. So this beer and cheddar bread recipe is technically a quick bread, similar to zucchini bread and banana bread.

So now let’s talk about the ingredients:

Flour – Regular all-purpose flour will do just fine here. You can substitute one cup of all-purpose flour with one cup of whole wheat if you prefer, but know the loaf will be a little bit denser than an all-white flour loaf.

Beer – Use a beer with a flavor profile you enjoy. If you want the beer flavor to really shine in your bread, use a beer with a strong flavor. If you aren’t a beer fan, go with a lighter beer with less flavor. And when it comes to the alcohol, there will only be a trace of it left in the finished bread. But if you want to avoid alcohol entirely, you can use a non-alcoholic beer in your bread (although it may affect the texture slightly).

Cheddar Cheese – I like to use extra sharp cheddar cheese to stand up to the beer flavor.

Chives – The recipe calls for dried chives because I always have some in my pantry. If you prefer to use fresh chives, use double the amount called for in the recipe.

Rosemary – I typically use dried rosemary because I always have it on hand. But fresh rosemary will work, too. If using fresh, increase the amount to 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh rosemary. 

Onion – Stick to using dried minced onion in this recipe. Dried onion has a concentrated flavor and won’t add any additional liquid to the batter the way fresh onion will.

Baking Powder – The only requirement for baking powder is that it is fresh. Using old, outdated baking powder will leave your bread flat and dense.

Salt – table salt or fine sea salt will work fine. If using Kosher salt, add an extra pinch of it.

Butter – I use salted butter. If you use unsalted butter, add an extra pinch of salt to the recipe.

Cook’s Tips:

• You can change out the rosemary and onion for different flavors. Try adding cooked and crumbled bacon for bacon cheddar beer bread. 
• Loaf pans come in different sizes. For this recipe, you need a loaf pan that is roughly 9″ x 5″. You can use a slightly larger or smaller pan, but you’ll need to keep a close on your bread while baking to make sure it doesn’t over- or under-bake.
• You might find that a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean long before the 60-minute mark. Don’t be fooled by this – the bread is probably still not fully baked. Allow it to bake for at least 55 minutes to ensure it is baked through.
• To make the best beer bread, allow the bread to cool thoroughly before slicing.

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So that’s all there is to making your own Cheddar Beer Bread with Onion and Rosemary. If you make it, I hope you love it. And don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram so you don’t miss a post. 

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