beer bread for st. patrick's day

This recipe was in Saturday's Globe and Mail. Adam made it twice already; he followed the instructions and added 1 tbsp salt to the first loaf, and it was much too salty. With an adjustment to 1 tsp, it is absolutely delicious! The dill makes it heavenly, and it makes a great grilled cheese and sandwich bread. The original recipe is available here.

BEER BREAD

An easy-to-make rustic bread with a slightly moist texture and excellent flavour. It is great toasted or used for cheese sandwiches. It's also terrific with soups and stews. Using a dark beer gives it too much of beery taste, but wheat beer or lager are excellent. Because there is yeast in beer, it helps to make a structured loaf that you can use for sandwiches although it is really a quick bread.

What you need

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablesspoon baking powder

1/4 cup chopped dill

1 cup grated old Cheddar cheese

341 millilitres (12 ounces) wheat beer or lager.

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

What you do:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously butter a loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Combine all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the dill and cheese and stir to coat with flour. Stir in beer and mustard until mixture forms a dough. You may need to knead dough with your hands to bring it together.

Turn the dough into a buttered loaf pan and use a damp hand to smooth the top. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until light golden and firm to touch. Makes 1 loaf.