A Slice of Heaven (Part 2) - Beer Bread & Buns

For Part 2 in this series I decided to indulge into two other favorite bread recipes, that's is not just dynamic, but delicious and wholesome.  Beer bread and Buns.  In recent times it has been difficult to bake beer bread, and I don’t like to mention Covid 19 (hold my beer), but we were unable to purchase any alcohol as the government imposed an alcohol ban in our country.  This in turn inhibited me to bake or create anything that contained alcohol, especially our family favorite - beer bread.  

Banned?

The ban was lifted then imposed then lifted, then imposed again,  so when we had the chance to buy any beer (and there weren’t many - I am an Essential Worker), we had to jump to the opportunity. This meant that standing in a long queue with short frustrations was the new normal.  

A slice of  Heaven

Alas! I was able to get the ingredients for my recipe and then I created a slice of heaven.  That first slice was heaven, topped with melted golden butter delight.  A bliss to the senses.  The essence of apple, mixed herbs and florals fills the air.  This is indeed a slice of heaven!

Multiple seasons in one day is something you get accustomed to when you live in the Mother City.  So whether it's a cold winter morning, or hot summer afternoon, bread seems to stay the food for the soul!  

You got Buns Hon?

Buns are so versatile, you can fill them with literally anything and you can serve it up as a fancy treat or as a good old barbeque special.  The possibilities are endless.  Thanks to my mom I discovered a quick and easy delicious recipe that is suitable for any and all occasions.

Beer Bread

Baking Time : 45 - 60 minutes 

Servings: 8 - 10

Difficulty: 1 out 5

Vegetarian

Ingredients:

• 3 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 tbs Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1 can Beer (340ml) - I used Apple Beer, this made the bread really fragrant and delicious.
• 2 tbs mixed Herbs
• 2 tbs Basil leaves, finely chopped.

Method:

This bread is suitable to be baked in an oven, BBQ bread pot or in a "bread-varkie" (a device used to bake bread in, on an open fire). 

• Preheat the oven to 180'C.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
• Add the sugar, herbs and basil and mixed well.
• Add the Beer into the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
• Pour the batter into a greased bread pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until golden brown.
• Serve a slice of Heaven with butter as a side dish to any meal.

 

Easy Buns

Baking Time : 20 - 30 minutes 

Servings: 6

Difficulty: 1 out 5

Vegetarian

Ingredients:

• 2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 tsp Salt
• 10g Yeast (instant is also suitable)
• 1 tbs Sugar
• 250ml luke warm Water
• 45ml Olive Oil
• 1 tbs Milk (for brushing the buns)

Method:

These buns are suitable to be baked in an oven, or halogen convection oven.

• Preheat the oven to 180'C.
• Sift the flour, salt , yeast and sugar together.
• Add the water gradually, and mix until a dough starts to form.
• On a flour dusted surface, knead the dough for 10 minutes.
• Coat a glass bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl.
• Cover with cling wrap and a kitchen towel and leave to rise for at least 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
• Divide the dough into 6 even balls.
• This step is not necessary, but recover the balls again and let rise for another hour (this just makes the buns more fluffy.
• Brush the buns with milk and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Serve as main dish, filled with anything or as tiny sliders for a starter.

Enjoy, take care of the ones around you, and most of all Stay Safe!

Tin_Tin