When it snows it drifts. It doesn't have the same ring as "when it rains, it pours" does it? We've had an unusually mild winter this year, and the old timers have been telling me we hadn't seen the last of the snow. Today we were hit with a fairly heavy blizzard, and a portion of the expressway closed.
I took a break later in the afternoon to bake a loaf of a beer bread and warm the kitchen.
Cheddar Garlic Beer Bread
Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
12 ounces room temperature beer
4 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. garlic powder
Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cheese. Add the beer, and stir to form a soft dough. Do not use an electric mixer. Mix until just moistened. Spoon evenly into a 9x5 loaf pan that has been sprayed with pan spray or coated with butter. Mix the garlic into the melted butter and drizzle on top of the dough BEFORE baking. Place the loaf pan on a cookie sheet in the oven on the middle rack. Bake at 350 degree F. for 45 minutes. Test with a toothpick. If still undone, bake for ten more minutes. Serve warm.
Notes: My bread turned out crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. It was delicious, and worth putting up with the smoke from the oven. Why, you ask? I forgot the cookie sheet and the butter bubbled over into the bottom of the oven. Not a good thing, especially when it's a cold winter day and open windows make for a chilly house.
Cheddar Garlic Beer Bread
Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
12 ounces room temperature beer
4 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. garlic powder
Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cheese. Add the beer, and stir to form a soft dough. Do not use an electric mixer. Mix until just moistened. Spoon evenly into a 9x5 loaf pan that has been sprayed with pan spray or coated with butter. Mix the garlic into the melted butter and drizzle on top of the dough BEFORE baking. Place the loaf pan on a cookie sheet in the oven on the middle rack. Bake at 350 degree F. for 45 minutes. Test with a toothpick. If still undone, bake for ten more minutes. Serve warm.
Notes: My bread turned out crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. It was delicious, and worth putting up with the smoke from the oven. Why, you ask? I forgot the cookie sheet and the butter bubbled over into the bottom of the oven. Not a good thing, especially when it's a cold winter day and open windows make for a chilly house.
