Onion & Cheddar Beer Bread

I'm not exactly sure where Ray got the idea from but beer bread was the perfect way use up the leftover Superbowl Sunday beer. This is meant to be a quick bread that does not require any yeast or rising. The result is a dense and moist savory bread - best used to make some yummy sandwiches.

Onion and Cheddar Beer Bread
adapted from the Pioneer Woman

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/4 cup diced onions
2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup cheese
12 oz. bottle of beer, room temperature
4 tablespoons melted butter

Directions
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Saute onions until tender. Set aside to cool. Combine sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, then make a well in the middle of your bowl.

Add onions, cheese and pour in the beer.



While it is foaming, stir quickly until all ingredients are just moist. Do not over mix, it is a quick bread after all.



Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray. Spread dough into the pan. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of your melted butter over the top of the loaf already in the pan.



Bake for 35 minutes. When that time is up, open and brush on the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Bake an additional 20 – 25 minutes dpending on your oven, and remove when a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for five minutes in the pan.



Run a knife along the edges to make sure it isn’t sticking, and remove from the pan to cool on a wire rack.



Despite the pale ale I used, the taste of the beer was still very prominent. I'd like to see how the bread would turn out with a darker beer. Also, I am unfortunately cursed with the OCD-associated bad habit of overmixing. Ray's favorite chant in the kitchen is "Don't OVERMIX!" But when he's not looking, I always give my batter a couple of extra strokes - after all, who wants pockets of flour in their dough? As much as I hate to admit it though, those couple of extra strokes really does affect the consistency and texture. This bread was definitely not as fluffy as it could have been. While I attribute it to the lack of yeast, Ray, of course, blames it on my overmixing. Regardless, it was still good and worth another attempt - maybe with a different cheese, some chives and a darker beer.