CHEER FOR BEER BREAD
It came like magic in a pint bottle; it was not ecstasy but it was comfort.
~Charles Dickens (1812-1870) Little Dorrit (1857)
HAPPY ST PATRICK’S DAY
Today is St Patrick’s Day and what to make? Love shortbread, but never made it. About the most Irish I get in the kitchen is Corned Beef & Cabbage, which I’ve already done.  I can’t say that my ex-mother-in-law ever really inspired me in the kitchen but she did give me a great recipe for beer bread, which I adjusted a bit. The original recipe called for sugar, I substituted honey. And I used bock beer because it happened to be October. But then, you can’t get bock beer all year round, so for the rest of the year I used regular beer and half honey/half molasses. Worked like a charm. So Beer Bread it is.
About the beer: you could use an expensive stout beer, but don’t bother. A can of Bud is quite sufficient. Just don’t use lite beer. And baking burns off the alcohol, so no problem feeding it to the kids. In fact, this might be the most fun/quick/cool bread for kids to make ever. You don’t have to sift the flour. Very good return on investment.
Fabulous with a hearty Vegetable Soup.  Or with sweet butter along with morning coffee. Good with Liptaur Spread for lunch. And if you have some in the refrigerator that’s gotten a little old it makes a mind-blowing French Toast (the weekend is coming up.) And if you’re selling real estate, nothing fills the house with a homey, double-yeasty fragrance like baking beer bread. Could be your biggest ROI ever.
Pretty much throw everything in a bowl and turn into a greased loaf pan.
