Spicy Chili-Cheese Beer Bread

Spicy Chile-Cheese Beer Bread

I was seriously craving some homemade bread yesterday but had only a two-hour window of time to bake, so what did I do?  I turned to an old beer-bread recipe that requires no yeast or rising time, and jazzed it up with some dried de arbol chilies and sharp NY white cheddar cheese.  You could probably substitute other dried chiles and vary the amount so as to change the heat level to suit your taste.  The 8 de arbol chiles made the bread about a medium in heat, by bread standards.  And feel free to use a different cheese, such as Monterey Jack or pepper jack, or even hoop cheese.  The beer you select will make a noticeable difference in the taste, so choose a beer you enjoy drinking.  I used a bottle of Hacker-Pschorr Original Oktoberfest.  Very important:  You need to add the full bottle of beer to the recipe, so no sipping (at least not from that bottle)!

Dried De Arbol Chilies

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use half whole-wheat and half white, for a heartier bread)
3 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
6 to 8 dried hot chiles such as de arbol
4 oz. cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
1 12-oz bottle beer
1 egg, beaten

Diced sharp NY cheddar

Soak the dried chilies in hot water for a few minutes to soften, then drain and coarsely chop or cut with kitchen shears.  While the chilies are soaking, start preheating the oven at 375° F and combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Stir in the cheese and chopped chiles, then pour in the beer and stir until just combined (the dough will be somewhat stiff and dry-looking).  Turn dough onto a very lightly floured surface and knead just enough to form a ball.  Place on a baking sheet and use a sharp knife to slit an X across the top of the bread.  Brush the top with the beaten egg, then place baking sheet on the lower-middle rack of your oven.

Interior view

Bake at 375° F for about 1 hour or until the loaf turns golden brown.  Remove bread from baking sheet and place on a wire rack to cool for several minutes before slicing.  Enjoy plain or with your favorite savory spread.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

PS:  When I made this recipe yesterday, I removed the bread from the oven after only 50 minutes and it was slightly under-done (see interior view photo on right).  Interestingly, the toothpick I had inserted to test for doneness had come out clean, which is why I assumed the bread was done baking in under an hour as it normally would be without the cheese and chilies.  If you make this bread recipe at home, please leave a comment here to let us know how long you baked it for, and also whether you made any modifications to the ingredients.

PPS:  I made this recipe again but used sharp yellow cheddar, milder dried Ancho chiles (two large ones), and a hefty doppelbock (Weeping Radish Christmas  Bier), and baked the bread for just a couple of minutes over an hour.  The bread came out perfectly cooked, darker in color (see photo on left) and with a more pronounced, earthier beer flavor.  In addition to being less spicy than the De Arbol chiles, the Ancho chiles were also a little sweeter, which provided a pleasant contrast to the sharper cheese and heartier beer flavor.  Feel free to experiment with other chile, beer and cheese combinations, and leave a comment with your results.