Irish Beer and Cheese Bread

Hello all!  I apologize for the lack of posts.  I'm still here, but with my crazy life I haven't been updating this blog like I should.  So again, I apologize.  The posts here will be irregular and infrequent as I continue to juggle wedding planning, work, and nursing school, but I can guarantee I will always keep The Beachside Baker up, so recipes can be available for you to access at all times.  Hopefully, with our wedding just weeks away, I can eventually take "wedding planning" off my to-do list and return my baking/blog posting to it's original spot on my weekly to-do's. 

Before I share my new recipe with you, I can update you on the last few months.  Our wedding is so soon, and we only have a few minor things left to plan!  The last few weekends have been devoted to accomplishing more for our wedding, with last weekend being the date of our cake tasting.  We've picked out a cake with several different flavors (which I will refrain from mentioning for now) that I think the guests will be pleased with. 

Also, last month I enjoyed a fun bridal weekend back in my hometown, Manteca, CA.  We started the weekend off with a bridal shower, hosted by my sister (maid-of-honor) at her home.  It was a beautiful day for the shower, and many of my friends and family attended.  We played games, ate food, and I received many wonderful gifts that I am so thankful for....many of those are kitchen items which I will definitely use as I add more recipes to this blog! 

I can't wait to use this ice cream maker!



More things to use in the kitchen!



Sis and I

After the shower, we had a few hours to rest and freshen up before the bachelorette party!  The bachelorette party was definitely the highlight of the weekend.  Many of my friends came to join in on the fun, and we had a great time.  Our night included dinner, drinks, karaoke, AND dancing.  What more could I ask for?

I love each and every one of these girls!  I'm so glad they all made it out.

Besides wedding-related news, I also am well into second semester in my nursing program.  The first 8 weeks of this semester we're studying mental health, so I'm busy learning about mental illnesses, medications, pathophysiology, how to remain safe around these unstable patients, and how we can be therapeutic for these patients.  We're currently dong our clinical rotations in the psych ward of a hospital, so it's definitely been interesting, yet exhausting at the same time.  I'm currently running on coffee.  Lots of coffee.....


My view every night.

 Now that you're caught up with my news, let's move on to the highlight of this post:  Irish Beer and Cheese Bread.  I've had this recipe saved as a draft for a while now, but since St. Patrick's Day is coming up in the near future, I think it's the perfect time to share it.

This bread recipe is a very easy type of bread to make.  It does not require any yeast or kneading dough, so it's perfect for beginning bakers.  This recipe does, however, call for Irish ale and Dubliner cheese, hence the name, "Irish" Beer and Cheese Bread.  Since March 17th is just around the corner, many of you may be drinking popular Irish ales, such as Guinness, so just keep a bottle aside to use for this bread.  If you're looking for any other St. Patrick's Day recipes, I also highly recommend Irish Cupcakes.  These are extremely popular among my coworkers, and are absolutely delicious any time of year.  Wash down that cupcake with a Shamrock Shake and you're all set!

I originally found this recipe off of one of my favorite food blogs, Brown Eyed Baker.  Michelle, the blog author, always posts a round-up of recipes for each holiday season, which is one of the main reasons why I love to subscribe to her blog.  If you're ever in the need for a recipe for a specific holiday occasion, whether it's St. Patricks Day, Easter, or maybe just for a summer BBQ, I highly recommend browsing through her recipe collection first!

I found this recipe on her blog a few years ago, and this bread immediately caught my eye.  I had some extra bottles of Guinness and needed a simple way to use them up, and these was a perfect recipe to use them in.  I like pretty much anything that involves cheese, but the combination of the Dubliner cheese, Guinness, Worcestershire sauce, and spices made it much more savory and satisfying than most breads I'm used to.  If you're a carb-a-holic like me, this bread is just the thing for you, so give it a try!



Irish Beer and Cheese Bread
Print this recipe
Yield:  1 loaf
Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker, originally adapted from Make it Naked

Ingredients:

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
8 oz extra sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
4 oz Dubliner cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 cups Irish ale (I used Guinness)
3/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan and set aside.

Measure out 1/4 cup of the sharp cheddar, 1/4 cup of the white cheddar and 2 Tbsp of the Dubliner and reserve for topping the bread later.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining cheese, the flour, baking powder, dry mustard, salt, cayenne, white pepper, and garlic. Stir to ensure that all of the cheese is coated with flour.

In a small bowl, whisk together the beer, sour cream, egg, and Worcestershire sauce.

Pour the beer mixture into the cheese and flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix the dough until just combined. Spoon the dough into the prepared loaf pan, using a spatula to even out the top. Mix together the reserved cheeses and sprinkle evenly on top.

Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean (or, if you have an instant-read thermometer, the middle of the bread reaches 190 degrees F).

Remove bread from the oven, place on a wire rack, and cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edges of the pan and continue to cool. When the bottom of the pan can be touched, turn the bread out and let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.