This cheese and stout beer bread recipe is pure genius and so easy! You need just a few basic ingredients, a bold stout beer, and sharp cheddar cheese. It’s the perfect bread for beginners and beer lovers alike!
The beauty of beer bread is its simplicity. Mix, bake, and enjoy! In this version, we combine stout beer with cheddar and scallions. Serve this savory bread as a side for homemade chili or creamy soups like potato soup, or enjoy it with a bit of butter as a snack.
This beer bread recipe only requires a bowl, a spoon, and a loaf pan. No mixer or fancy ingredients are required. It is also a great excuse to buy your favorite stout beer! If you have beer left over, make our Guinness chocolate cake or our Guinness beef stew. For beer bread with a lighter beer, try our easy beer bread, which I love when made with a lager or pilsner.
Key Ingredients
- Self-Rising Flour: Unlike all-purpose flour, self-rising flour adds baking powder and salt. Self-rising flour makes beer bread super easy, but you can use all-purpose if that is all you have. For 3 cups of self-rising flour, whisk 3 cups of all-purpose flour with 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon salt.
- Sugar, Salt, and Pepper: Granulated sugar balances the beer and helps make our loaf tender. Then, we add a bit of salt and pepper to the perfectly seasoned loaf. (We only add a little salt, as the self-rising flour does have salt added.)
- Stout Beer: You do taste the beer used in this bread recipe, so use something you already enjoy the flavor of. Stout beer tastes rich and bittersweet. It also adds color to the bread. We recommend avoiding really hoppy beers like IPAs and APAs, as their bitterness can be too strong for the bread. If you don’t like stout beer, substitute for lagers, pilsners, or amber ales like in this easy beer bread recipe.
- Butter: This beer bread calls for a generous amount of butter, and I love it that way. You’ll add most of the butter to the loaf and then brush the rest over the batter in the pan, adding a delicious buttery crust as it bakes.
- Cheddar Cheese: Most cheese will work when making this beer bread, but I love a sharp cheddar. Irish or English cheddar is even better!
- Green Onions: I love stirring sliced green onion in the bread batter. It works so nicely with the stout beer and cheese.
How to Make Stout Beer Bread
Making beer bread couldn’t be any easier. Mix the dry ingredients together, then pour your beer and melted butter. This comes together as a wet dough — almost like a thick pancake batter.
Spoon the beer bread dough into your loaf pan, then add some extra cheese and scallions. Drizzle over more melted butter for a golden-brown crust, then bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cheese Stout Beer Bread
- PREP
- COOK
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Beer bread is the easiest bread you’ll ever bake! You only need a few things: basic ingredients, a bowl, a spoon, a loaf pan, and your favorite beer. This recipe is incredibly versatile – try a stout (like we did), a light beer, a pilsner, a lager, pumpkin ale, or even hard cider. Avoid really hoppy beers, as they will be too strong.
We recommend an 8 ½ x 4 ½-inch loaf pan. If you only have a 9 x 5 pan, no worries! Start checking your bread for doneness about 5 minutes before the minimum baking time listed in the recipe.
Pro tip: Use an insulated baking sheet or stack two regular baking sheets together for the most even baking. This simple trick makes a big difference!
You Will Need
4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, divided
3 cups (390g) self-rising flour
3 ounces (85g) sharp cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes (about 3/4 cup)
2 scallions, ends trimmed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
12 ounces stout beer or beer of your choice (1 ½ cups)
Directions
1Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and brush an 8 ½ x 4 ½-inch loaf pan with a bit of the melted butter.
2Set about 10 pieces of cheese and a small handful of sliced scallions aside for the top of the bread.
3Mix the flour, the remaining cheese, green onion, sugar, salt, and black pepper in a large bowl until well blended. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the beer. Stir until relatively smooth. Stir in two-thirds of the butter, leaving the remaining third for the top of the loaf.
4Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Scatter with the reserved cheese and scallion, then drizzle with the remaining third of butter.
5Bake the bread until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with only a few crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes.
6Cool the loaf in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Store in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days. Beyond that, the bread will begin to dry out. Or freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before enjoying. I like freezing slices for individual servings.
- Homemade self-rising flour: Combine 3 cups all-purpose flour, 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt.
- Variations: Sharp cheddar and scallions are our base, but the options are endless. Try crumbled bacon, roasted garlic, herbs like rosemary, or even fried shallots. Try other beers, or for a non-alcoholic version, use a non-alcoholic beer or seltzer water.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
How long does the bread last? Love this recipe!!!
Hi Jess, Glad you enjoy the recipe! The bread lasts for a few days on the counter or wrapped well in the freezer for about a month.
I only use whole wheat flour and am not familiar with w.w. self rising flour. If there is such a thing I doubt I’d buy it only to make this. Can you suggest how much baking powder or powder and soda would be required to substitute flour for self rising flour ?
To make 1 cup of self-rising flour, whisk 1 cup of all-purpose flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and a 1/4 teaspoon of salt together until well blended. For this recipe, you will need 3 cups of self-rising flour.
I made the cheesy beer bread recipe and used Blue Moon Gingerbread Spiced Ale, it was delicious! I served it with Irrisistable Guiness Beef Stew With Carrots (it was New Year’s day, I had a theme!), and wow, what a great combination these two made!
Thanks for two easy, fool-proof recipes. I did have to finish the stew on the stove, two hours in my oven (which normally runs hot) was just not enough, but another 45 minutes on the stove top produced an amazingly savory beef stew!
Looking forward to making this combo again!
Anna