No Knead Black Olive Beer Bread (no yeast)

An easy no knead, black olive and thyme beer bread made in one bowl with no yeast. The main ingredients are plain all purpose flour, black olives and beer or lager. Super simple and super quick.

NO KNEAD BLACK OLIVE BEER BREAD

I used to make no-knead beer bread or rolls quite often, but got out of the habit. 

Now we, like many other people, are shopping less, we're making our own bread. 

Well I say we, but I actually mean my son and I.

My husband, bless him, is starting to make some savoury dishes, following my recipes and doing well, but he's not so good at baked and sweet treats.

I shall not mention the tablet he made this week that ended up a hard crumbled mess that went in the bin. I shall also not lament the loss of all that caster sugar and vegan condensed milk. Nope didn't share any of that online!

My son and I usually make a brown sandwich loaf or a light rye bloomer bread by hand, both of which use yeast, but this time I wanted something quick I could serve with my soup.

It had to be beer bread.

I could have made a plain beer bread, but I wanted something a bot more interesting, so I flavoured it with black olives and thyme. 

It was fabulous!

WHAT IS BEER BREAD?

Beer bread is a quick, no-knead bread that's made in one bowl.

Beer bread doesn't need yeast as there's yeast already present in the beer. The yeast in the beer reacts with the sugar to help the bread rise. 

The addition of baking powder just gives it that wee bit extra help with the rise.

CAN YOU USE LAGER TO MAKE BEER BREAD?

It's called beer bread, but it can be made with lager, stout, ale or beer. You can even make it with Guinness.

The stronger the flavour of the beer, lager, ale or stout, the more flavour the bread will have.

CAN I GET DRUNK EATING BEER BREAD?

Now you may be laughing, but I know someone will ask me about the alcohol content.

First up, there is no need to worry. Most of the alcohol will evaporate during the baking process.

To put it into perspective, one beer bread is made with 330ml of beer. If the loaf is shared between 4 people that's just 4 tablespoons each and most of that will evaporate.

Nothing to worry about, just easy tasty bread.

also try - Wholemeal Beer Bread

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BLACK OLIVE BEER BREAD

1. Plain flour
2. Baking powder
3. Sugar
4. Salt
5. Dried or fresh thyme (optional)
6. Pitted black olives
7. Beer or lager

also try Pesto & Garlic Beer Bread

CAN I MAKE A WHOLEMEAL OR BROWN BEER BREAD?

You can definitely make a wholemeal or brown beer bread. The bread will be a bit heavier and not as light and fluffy as the white beer bread.

You could use a mix of wholemeal or brown flour with white flour.

When making any brown style loaf, mixing in white flour will lighten the final loaf.

WHY DO I NEED TO ADD BAKING POWDER WHEN THERE IS YEAST IN THE BREAD?

It's true there is yeast in beer and lager, but a lot of it is filtered out. 

Some have more yeast left in than. For instance if you see sediment at the bottom of a glass or in a bottle then that is yeast.

Craft beers often have more of the yeast left in, but there is so much variety from beers and stouts to ales and lagers, that it is best to add the baking powder to ensure a good rise in your loaf.

CAN I MAKE BEER BREAD DINNER ROLLS?

Instead of making a loaf of beer bread, you can pour the mixture into a muffin tin to make dinner rolls.

You don't need to change the recipe at all, just make sure the muffin tin is well greased and bake them for 30-35 minutes instead of the 45 minutes the loaf needs.

WHY IS BEER BREAD SO GOOD?

• It's quick
• It's easy
• You don't need any bread making skills
• You don't need any special equipment
• You don't need yeast
• You don't need strong bread flour
• There's no kneading
• There's no waiting for it to rise for hours
• You can easily change the flavours
• It tastes great

BLACK OLIVES

The black olives add a lot of flavour and interest to this bread.

If you don't have black olives you could use green olives, but they need to be pitted so either use the pitted olives or pit them yourself then chop them into small pieces.

Pat the olives dry before adding to the dry mixture as you don't want to introduce any more liquid into the dough.

THYME

The thyme adds even more flavour to the bread. I used dried thyme, but if you have it you could use fresh thyme.

If you don't have thyme, you could use another dried herb like dried coriander or dried basil. 

Dried herbs work better than fresh herbs in beer bread, unless the fresh herbs are quite woody like thyme or rosemary.

DIFFERENT FLAVOURS TO ADD TO BEER BREAD

Beer bread can be made plain or jazzed up with all sorts of flavours. Here are a few suggestions of what you can add. 

Why not try out your own combinations?

1. Chilli flakes
2. Paprika
3. Turmeric
4. Cumin
5. Dried ginger
6. Dried thyme
7. Dried coriander
8. Dried oregano
9. Fresh rosemary
10. Fresh thyme
11. Garlic
12. Onion (thinly sliced)
13. Cheddar (dairy or vegan)
14. Parmesan (dairy or vegan)
15. Smoked cheese (dairy or vegan)
16. Olives (green or black)
17. Sundried tomatoes
18. Pumpkin seeds
19. Sesame seeds
20. Sunflower seeds

HOW TO SERVE BEER BREAD

I like to make a quick beer bread to serve with homemade soup, it's great for dunking.

There's something rather special about serving homemade soup with homemade bread.

You can also serve it plain, just spread with vegan butter (or regular butter).

Or you can slice it and make sandwiches or toast. 

HERE ARE SOME SOUPS TO ENJOY WITH BEER BREAD

• Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup
• Carrot & Coriander Soup (slow cooker)
• Creamy Cauliflower Soup
• Fridge Lentil Soup
• Minestrone Soup  
• Scottish Tattie, Neep & Carrot Soup 
• Yellow Split Pea Soup

pin it for later

HOW TO MAKE BLACK OLIVE BEER BREAD

Scroll down for step-by-step photos showing you how easy it is to make beer bread, followed by a printable recipe.

STEP 1 - FLOUR

Preheat your oven and grease a 2 lb (900g) loaf tin.

Pour your flour into a large mixing bowl. You can sieve it for extra lightness.

STEP 2 - OLIVES

Next add the chopped olives.

Make sure you pat them dry on kitchen paper first so you aren't adding any extra liquid to the dough.

STEP 3 - BAKING POWDER

Now add the baking powder. This will improve the rise.

Remember if you are using plain all purpose flour you will need extra baking powder (see my explanation further up the post).

STEP 4 - SUGAR

Now add the sugar. The sugar will work with the yeast to help with the rise of the dough and also add to the flavour of the loaf.

I used brown sugar, but you could use caster sugar.

STEP 5 - DRIED THYME

If you are adding dried or fresh thyme, add it now. 

If you don't have any you could use another dried herb or skip it altogether. The olives will give a lot of flavour to the loaf even if you don't add herbs.

STEP 6 - SALT

It is always important to add salt to bread. It really makes all the difference to the flavour of the loaf.

STEP 7 - MIX

Give the ingredients a good mix, so they are well combined before adding the beer or lager.

STEP 8 - BEER

Now pour in the beer or lager, stout or ale, depending on what you are using.

Do check the quantity on the bottle or can as it may be more than you require for this recipe.

STEP 9 - DOUGH

Quickly fold the dry ingredients into the beer until well combined, but try not to overwork it.

The yeast in the beer, the baking soda and the sugar will all be working together in a chemical reaction already, so don't walk away from it and leave it to bake until later.

Get it in that loaf tin and in the oven as quick as you can.

STEP 10 - LOAF TIN

Place the bread dough into a well-greased loaf tin.

Sprinkle the top of the loaf with flour.

STEP 11 - BAKE

Bake the loaf in a pre-heated oven for 45 minutes until the loaf is golden and crisp.

Remove from the tin and tap the base. If it is cooked through it will have a hollow sound.

Cool on a baking rack.

Slice and enjoy!

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST BEER BREAD

1. Preheat your oven.
2. Grease the loaf tin well, including the lip of the tin for easy removal of the loaf.
3. Make sure your baking powder is fresh and not old and out of date as this could affect the rise.
4. Once you have poured the beer in, work quickly.
5. Don't over mix the dough, just fold the dry ingredients into the beer until just combined.
6. Once the dough is in the loaf tin, get it in the oven right away, don't leave it to go back to as the yeast, sugar and baking powder start working as soon as they touch. You want to get the loaf in as quickly as possible so this mixture is still active.
7. Bake until golden and crisp. No one wants a pale loaf with no crust.
8. Once you take it out of the oven, remove from the loaf tin right away and tap the base of the bread. If it sounds hollow it's ready, if it sounds heavy, with a dull sound, it need to go back in a bit longer.
9. Adjust how strong your loaf is by the strength of the lager or beer. A light lager or ale will make a fresher bread, which will appeal more to children, but a heavy beer or stout will produce a stronger hoppy taste to the bread, which some may find too strong.
10. Use your beer bread fresh on the day you make it and slice it to make toast on day two for the best results.

HOW TO STORE BEER BREAD

Beer bread is best eaten fresh on the day it is made, but you can keep it a second day for toast.

Wrap it in a paper bag, greaseproof paper or a clean tea towel.

CAN YOU FREEZE BEER BREAD?

Beer bread can be frozen on the day it is made.

Make sure it is completely cool then slice. Pop it in a freezer bag with pieces of freezer-friendly baking paper between the slices.

Take out just how many slices you need. You can leave it to defrost on a plate in the fridge overnight or toast it from frozen (it will need a bit longer), your toaster may have a setting for frozen bread.

Frozen beer bread still needs to be used quickly for best results.

UPDATE - READERS RECIPES

I love when readers try my recipes and let me know they have enjoyed them. It's even better when they share photos.

One of my readers (new virtual friend) over in my Facebook Group Living on the Veg made my tattie scones and my black olive bread just hours after I shared it here.

She tweaked both recipes, which I would always recommend you doing to suit your own tastes. 

She added feta to the bread, which is a good call (you could add either veggie or vegan feta) and she added rosemary to the tattie scones. 

Oh and she gave me permission to share.

And from another reader Eva who tried both the recipes and gave me permission to share.

No Knead Black Olive Beer Bread

Yield: 4-6

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum

Prep time: 5 MCook time: 45 MTotal time: 50 M

An easy no knead, black olive and thyme beer bread made in one bowl with no yeast. The main ingredients are plain all purpose flour, black olives and beer or lager. Super simple and super quick.

Ingredients:

• 375g/3 cups plain (all purpose) flour
• 60g/1/2 cup black olives
• 1 tbsp brown sugar (or caster sugar)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp salt
• 330ml/1.4 cups beer (lager, stout or ale)

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 190c/170c fan/375f/gas mark 5.
2. Grease a 2 lb/900g loaf tin.
3. Pour all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix to combine.
4. Pour in the beer and fold in until just combined.
5. Place the dough in the loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes until crisp and golden.
6. Once out of the oven, remove from the tin and tap the base. It should sound hollow, if it doesn't pop it back in for a bit longer.
7. Leave to cool on a baking rack and then slice.
8. Enjoy!

Notes:

Grease the loaf tin well, including the lip of the tin for easy removal of the loaf.
Make sure your baking powder is fresh and not old and out of date as this could affect the rise.
Once you have poured the beer in, work quickly.
Don't over mix the dough, just fold the dry ingredients into the beer until just combined.
Once the dough is in the loaf tin, get it in the oven right away, don't leave it to go back to as the yeast, sugar and baking powder start working as soon as they touch. You want to get the loaf in as quickly as possible so this mixture is still active.
Bake until golden and crisp. No one wants a pale loaf with no crust.
Once you take it out of the oven, remove from the loaf tin right away and tap the base of the bread. If it sounds hollow it's ready, if it sounds heavy, with a dull sound, it need to go back in a bit longer.
Adjust how strong your loaf is by the strength of the lager or beer. A light lager or ale will make a fresher bread, which will appeal more to children, but a heavy beer or stout will produce a stronger hoppy taste to the bread, which some may find too strong.
Use your beer bread fresh on the day you make it and slice it to make toast on day two for the best results.
Beer bread is best eaten fresh on the day it is made, but you can keep it a second day for toast. Wrap it in a paper bag, greaseproof paper or a clean tea towel.
Beer bread can be frozen on the day it is made. Make sure it is completely cool then slice. Pop it in a freezer bag with pieces of freezer-friendly baking paper between the slices. Take out just how many slices you need. You can leave it to defrost on a plate in the fridge overnight or toast it from frozen (it will need a bit longer), your toaster may have a setting for frozen bread. Frozen beer bread still needs to be used quickly for best results.

Calories
274.01

Fat (grams)
1.86

Sat. Fat (grams)
0.27

Carbs (grams)
53.17

Fiber (grams)
2.27

Net carbs
50.90

Sugar (grams)
1.96

Protein (grams)
6.86

Sodium (milligrams)
718.36

Cholesterol (grams)
0.00

easy bread recipe, olive bread, quick bread, no knead bread, no yeast bread, yeast free bread, vegan bread, beer bread, olive beer bread, olive bread

baking

British, vegan

Created using The Recipes Generator