Beer? Bread? Both?

I adore Sundays.  I meditate in the morning, think about  a long breakfast that stretches on for hours, all the while reading the paper and looking forward to timing my day when I can do the crossword puzzle.  When the kids are with me, it's great, too, because Ethan enjoys making big breakfasts and they both wonder if Mom is going to turn out some pancakes!  So, it wasn't that odd when I saw, a few weeks ago, Pam Anderson's column and her daughters (http://www.threemanycooks.com/) , display a wonderful recipe for this five ingredient bread, in the USA Today insert in the paper.  "No way!", I said to myself.

Bread and I have had a love/hate relationship over the last few years.  I've been tested for celiacs disease, gluten sensitivity, you name it.  The body she is a changin', but in moderation, I can enjoy some of the comforts that make my heart go pitty pat.  Bread, being the main one.  (Let's not even get started on cheese!)

Beer these days is as extensive as a wine store.  The aisles in my supermarket are getting longer with various types, from gluten free, to more local brewery's.  I'm not complaining, but, I'm also far from an afficionado.  I like a clean, crisp, beer to whet my appetite for Mexican food or entice me on a warm summer's day.  Other than that, I usually don't imbibe much anymore.  (Ah, but there are those college stories...)

For the past few months or so there has been this corner of my fridge that finds itself with a small collection of beer bottles.  Oh,we have some Heineken, Corona, Coors Light, to name a few.  No one is drinking them at my house.  I think I made a chili with one, braised some meat with another, but the few remaining, needed a home. 

Thank you, Three Many Cooks!  Five ingredients using beer and the most tantalizing bread I have had in a long time.  Toast for breakfast, you say?  Check.  Make it practically daily, you say?  Check.  Have it right from the oven for dinner, you say?  Check.  We will experiment with this, I'm sure.  Different beers have produced different flavors, but they are all so wonderful. 

So, since so many are asking me for the recipe (which, again, I take zero credit for), here you go.  Just don't go enjoying the beer prior to pouring it into the flour.  You need all 12 ounces, I can assure you.  If you must drink one, go get another out of the fridge and sit back and enjoy the smells eminating from your kitchen.  Just don't fall asleep.  The bread only takes 45 minutes. : )

Quick Five Ingredient Bread

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt (I use Kosher)
12 ounces of beer
(1 egg beaten)

Put the rack in your oven to the lower-middle position and pre-heat your oven to 375.

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Add the beer.
Stir with a fork until just combined. (This is important.  Do not put in your mixer.  Not the same)
Turn out dough onto floured surface.
Knead quickly to form a ball. (I do this until it's not too sticky, so add the flour accordingly)

Put on a baking sheet.
Slit an 'x' on the top with a serrated knife confidently (as Pam says)

Brush with egg wash.
Bake for 45 minutes.

Let it cool a bit on a wire rack and enjoy. 

 Enjoy!
Kathy