Sorry, I can’t recall who linked to this recipe for beer batter bread. I’d love to give due credit because it was awesome.
I really love homemade bread; but it does take time. And it always seems that I choose to bake on a day when someone needs extra mommy time. So I’ve been investigating quick breads for those days when I don’t have time for my usual honey whole wheat loaf.
Last week I made a pretty good soda bread from a recipe at Cook’s Illustrated. It was the perfect accompaniment to a quick soup. And my sister, who is sensitive to yeast, could even eat it! That one came together pretty quickly even if it did add a couple extra ingredients to the traditional soda bread: 1 cup of cake flour and some butter.
But this beer batter bread was even faster. And it was super tasty. Just mix the dry ingredients (I substituted whole wheat flour for two of the cups of flour and used bread flour for the third cup.) Then pour in the beer and stir just until it’s mixed. It should be lumpy. Then put it into your pan and brush melted butter on top. Then bake.
The resulting loaf wasn’t super pretty. In fact it was lumpy and odd looking. But that didn’t keep three fourths of it from disappearing before dinner. It has an amazing crunchy crust and a nce crumby texture. The flavor is rich and yeasty with a nice buttery sweetness. It might be a bit crumby for sandwich bread but it’s perfect as bread and butter or just plain. It would go really well with soups. Perfect for the long cold days ahead!
I love the spontaneous tidying stage. I just wish it lasted! Cherub has taken to getting her own water too, but from the fridge dispenser that she can barely reach, so there are a few spills.
I love these moments you share with us. When the children are older they will love it when you tell them what they did when they were little.
Maybe the pillow/book walk is learning to be graceful? I know a lot of princess stories convey this adage. I know my girls do it too!
Roger, That does, of course, make sense and it’s what a couple of other people have suggested. But I can’t for the life of me imagine where Bella picked it up. We’ve only got one book that even mentions ballerinas, a board book of Degas paintings. They don’t watch television and I know all the books they read… but children seem to have a strange ability to absorb new ideas from the ether.