Pesto & Garlic Beer Bread (no yeast - no knead)

An easy no yeast, no knead pesto and garlic beer bread made quickly in one bowl, then baked. No kneading and no leaving to rise. Quick and delicious.

BREADMAKING

I've been making a lot of my own bread recently. 

I mostly make bread by hand because I enjoy the process of kneading and then the rise. There's something very therapeutic and magical about the whole process.

I do have a bread machine, but I never use it. In fact I should really give it away to someone who would use it. 

And I have no idea where the dough hook for my stand mixer is!

The fourth way of making bread is quick breads made in a bowl with no kneading. This is one of those breads.

BEER BREAD

Beer bread is a quick bread made in one bowl with no kneading and no waiting for it to rise.

It's instant!

You don't need yeast either.

I would love to say it's the beer that gives in a rise, but the truth is you either need to use self-raising flour which has raising agents in it or plain flour with baking powder.

Most beers just don't have enough yeast left in them to help much with the rise, although craft beers often have much more left in.

A basic beer bread is made with flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and beer. That's it! No need (or should I say knead) to use strong bread flour either.

also try Quick No-Knead Onion Bread

PESTO & GARLIC BEER BREAD

My pesto and garlic beer bread is very simple to make.

As with all beer bread, it's made with flour, salt, sugar and beer.

It's  flavoured with pesto and garlic to ramp up the flavours. It's good just sliced and buttered, but it's also great dunked in soup or toasted.

It's got a great crust on it but inside it's soft and fluffy.

GARLIC

We all know what a good combination garlic and bread make and it's all baked into this loaf.

I crushed fresh garlic to add to this bread. Feel free to add more if you want it really garlicky.

If you don't have fresh garlic you could use frozen garlic, lazy garlic from a jar or garlic salt.

If you don't like garlic (what's wrong with you!) you can skip it and just make this a pesto beer bread.

PESTO

I added ready made pesto. I always have a few jars of Sacla vegan pesto in my cupboard, but I also like Mr Organic Basil Pesto, which is also super tasty.

I don't really recommend the Meridian or Tesco vegan pesto. I just didn't enjoy them at all.

You could also use an aubergine (eggplant), tomato or olive pesto instead of a standard basil pesto, which would give you a totally different colour and flavour.

Or why not make your own pesto and add it? Why not try my spinach and lemon pesto?

also try - Homemade Vegan Cashew Pesto

WHAT KIND OF BEER DO YOU MAKE BEER BREAD WITH?

Beer bread is slightly misnamed as it can be made with lager, ale, stout, porter or beer. It's just a catch all term for the bread type.

A stronger flavoured beer, stout or porter will add a lot more flavour to the bread than a light ale or lager.

Not everyone likes the strong flavour so consider carefully.

It's safe to give kids this bread as most of the alcohol is cooked off and there is very little in each slice, but I'd stick to a milder lager or pale ale. 

They are unlikely to enjoy the stronger flavours.

MORE BEER BREADS TO TRY

• Cheddar & Dill Beer Bread Rolls  (you can use veggie or vegan cheese)
• Cheddar, Parmesan & Chilli Beer Bread (you can use veggie or vegan cheese)
• No Knead Black Olive Beer Bread
• Wholemeal Beer Bread

BREADS WITH KNEADING & YEAST TO TRY

• Basic White Loaf
• Basic Wholemeal Bread
• Danish Loaf
• Light Rye Bloomer Bread
• Wholewheat Cob from a Sponge Starter

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Remember and say hi. I'm always happy to chat and answer questions.

HOW TO MAKE PESTO AND GARLIC BEER BREAD

Scroll down for step-by-step photos followed by a printable recipe. You can save the printed recipe on your PC, phone or tablet by hitting print and choosing the save as PDF option.

STEP 1 - FLOUR

In a large mixing bowl and add self-raising flour.

If you don't have self-raising flour you can use plain all-purpose flour and baking powder.

STEP 2 - SUGAR AND SALT

Now add sugar and salt for flavour.

I used brown sugar but you could use caster sugar.

STEP 3 - PESTO AND GARLIC

Now add pesto and garlic.

You can use a flavoured pesto for a different flavour.

If you don't have fresh garlic, you can use lazy garlic from a jar or garlic powder.

STEP 4 - BEER

Now it's time to add the beer (or lager, stout, porter or ale).

Just pour it in, then mix right away.

STEP 5 - MIX

Now this is the important part. As soon as you pour the beer in you want to mix it and get it in the oven as soon as possible.

Fold to mix, incorporating all the flour, but don't over mix.

STEP 6 - LOAF TIN

Pour the dough into a greased 2 lb/900g loaf tin.

Sprinkle the top of the dough with extra flour. It adds to the look of the final loaf.

STEP 7 - BAKE

Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes until crisp and golden.

Remove from the tin and tap the bottom. It should sound hollow when tapped. If not, pop it back in the oven.

Cool on a wire rack, then slice and serve,

beer bread, no yeast bread, no knead bread, quick bread, easy bread, pesto bread, garlic bread, vegan bread, dairy-free bread

baking

British

Yield: 8-10 thick slices

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum with kind permission

Print

Pesto & Garlic Beer Bread

An easy no yeast, no knead pesto and garlic beer bread made quickly in one bowl, then baked. No kneading and no leaving to rise. Quick and delicious.

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

Ingredients:

• 375g/3 cups self-raising wholemeal flour (see notes for using plain flour)
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt (you can add more)
• 2 tbsp pesto
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 330 ml/ 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, then add the pesto and garlic.
4. Pour in the beer and fold in until just combined.
5. Place the dough in the loaf tin, sprinkle with flour 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.

If you are using plain and not self-raising flour, add 1 tbsp baking powder.

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.

Bake until golden and crisp. Bread should always have a bit of colour.

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.

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.

Calories
198.15

Fat (grams)
3.19

Sat. Fat (grams)
0.57

Carbs (grams)
35.77

Fiber (grams)
4.87

Net carbs
30.90

Sugar (grams)
1.56

Protein (grams)
6.63

Sodium (milligrams)
314.19

Cholesterol (grams)
0.97

Created using The Recipes Generator