Equal parts salty and sweet, this crowd-pleasing bacon cheddar beer bread works for every meal. Serve it alongside hearty stews or offer it as a savory alternative to traditional brunch dishes.
Fry the bacon and set it aside on a plate to cool.
Preheat oven to 375°.
Grease a 9" x 5" x 2½” loaf pan with butter and set aside.
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, mixing well.
Add shredded cheddar cheese and honey to the dry ingredients.
Crumble bacon and add it to the ingredients already in the bowl. Mix well.
Add the beer to the bowl, stirring frequently to distribute the liquid. (The batter will be thick and sticky.)
Add batter to the prepared bread pan, smoothing the top so it’s flat.
Slice cold butter into pats roughly ¼ inch thick and place them on top of the batter.
Bake at 375° for 35-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Begin checking at 35 minutes. If the top is golden, but the center isn’t fully done, cover with foil and continue baking.)
This bread has a tendency to swell quickly, so stick with the recommended 9" x 5" x 2½” pan or larger.
If you must use a smaller pan, place an empty cookie sheet on the rack under the bread pan to catch melting butter if it drips.
Let bread stand on counter for 10 minutes to allow the melted butter to redistribute itself throughout the bread.
Remove the bread from the pan and cool fully on a cooling rack.
Alicia Underlee Nelson is a freelance writer and photographer who covers craft beer, travel, art, entertainment, history and breaking news for Thomson Reuters, Food Network, USA Today, Delta Sky Magazine, AAA Living Magazine, Midwest Living, Beer Advocate, trivago, Matador Network and numerous other publications.
Her first book, titled “North Dakota Beer: A Heady History,” was published in 2017. Follow her adventures across the American Midwest, prairie provinces of Canada and beyond at prairiestylefile.com. You can also find her (and photos of what she’s drinking) on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Each year, Allagash Brewing Co. holds a cooking contest at the Institute for Culinary Education in New York as a way to further the awareness of both pairing and cooking fine foods with beers like Allagash. This recipe for Allagash Curieux Pears with White Chocolate and Raspberries comes to us by way of ICE student Diego Ruiz Brugman, runner-up in the 2009 Allagash Brewing Recipe Contest.
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