Self-Rising Flour Tip and Beer Bread

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Do you have recipes that call for self-rising flour?  I have a few and have always gone to the store to buy a bag, sure that it must contain some special ingredients!  Only quite recently did I discover what self-rising flour really is – flour, baking powder, and salt.  Maybe you already know this and you’re laughing, with me.  But just in case you are like me, I must pass on the tip!  You can make your own self-rising flour!

For each cup of self-rising flour you need, simply sift/whisk together 1 cup of all-purpose flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  That’s it! You can make a batch to store or you can make just enough for a recipe.  If you’d like an easy recipe to use it in, consider this one.

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I had Beer Bread for the first time a few years ago – it has a yeasty flavor from the beer and I liked it.  My hubs had Beer Bread as a child.  I love the story he told me about it.  He was out for a walk with his grandmother and they found an unopened can of beer.  His grandmother did not drink, but she took the beer back home – to make Beer Bread!  What a great lesson in being thrifty by not letting anything go to waste!

This bread is very simple and is especially nice with soups.  I played with a couple of recipes to get it just the way I like it.

Beer Bread

3 cups self-rising flour
4 tablespoons sugar
1 12-oz bottle of beer*
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease a loaf pan.  Mix together the flour and sugar.  Pour in the bottle of beer and mix – mixture will still be lumpy.  Spoon into greased loaf pan.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Pour half of melted butter over the top and bake for 10 minutes.  Pour remaining melted butter over top and bake 10 more minutes.  Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

*Be sure that you like the taste of the beer you use as there may be a flavor of it when you eat the bread.  I used a Pale Ale in mine, but would have preferred a different flavor in the bread.  I think a less fancy beer would have been better.  Also, you can use non-alcoholic beer.

Variations:   Try adding a cup of grated cheese or some fresh or dried herbs to the batter for more flavor.  Double the sugar to make a sweet beer bread.

Note:  I was under the impression that alcohol completely evaporated out during baking, leaving just the concentrated flavor.  After a little research, I discovered that some alcohol will still remain.  It will be a small amount when broken out per serving.  But you should consider who you are serving this bread to in case they have alcohol issues or allergies, personal/religious reasons to abstain from alcohol, or are young children who might be sensitive to any amount of alcohol present.

Have you ever had Beer Bread?  Have you made your own self-rising flour or have you been buying the bag of it in the store?  I’d love to hear about it!

Lisa 

Image Source: Lisa @ Stop and Smell the Chocolates

This post is linked to:

• Things I Love Thursday at The Diaper Diaries.
• chic & crafty {Thursdays} at The Frugal Girls.
• GCC Recipe Swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge.
• I’m Lovin’ It at TidyMom.
• Finer Things Friday at The Finer Things in Life.
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays at At The Well.
• WFMW at We Are THAT Family.