There are few things in life that make me happier than:
1) The weekend
2) Puppies
3) A delicious cold beer on a hot summer day
You may not believe this, but I just recently became a beer drinker. In college, I was ‘that girl’ that went to a Keg party, pretended like there was Natty Ice in my red solo cup, but it was really a concoction that I made at home, stuffed in my purse, and poured in secret while no one was looking. I always felt shame – why can’t I like beer? It’s the ‘popular’ drink in college – it’s cheap – it comes in massive metal barrels that you slap a tube onto and it flows like spring water all night – heck you can even make games out of drinking it! But I just could not get past the taste of it – the smell of it – my taste buds were much more refined, and White Zin out of a box seemed to be one of the only things that would satisfy them.
After college though I decided it was time to join the masses, and living on a ‘post-grad’ budget, $1.50 Bud Light drafts became very pleasing to my wallet, and eventually my taste buds. And then I met Dave, and my world of beer drinking was rocked. In our first couple of dates, he ordered beers that I always saw in the rainbow of taps on the bar, but never in a million years thought to order. Beers that were so dark, they looked like tar. Dave would say “Just try it” and I’d take a sip of them, to be nice and make a good impression, and I’d force it down my throat, trying to find my happy place, saying “Oooh yeah, that’s interesting” thinking to myself “What is WRONG with this person? This tastes like toilet water”. And then 4+ years later, I married this crazy person, and share many of the same favorite beers with him – funny how things change eh?
So we’re cookin’ with beer this week folks, and first on the menu is Roasted Garlic Beer Bread – three of my favorite things in one magical loaf 🙂
Roasted Garlic Beer Bread
*Women’s Health Magazine
INGREDIENTS
2 whole garlic bulbs
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 tsp salt
1 & 1/2 cups lager or pilsner
1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove the papery covering of the garlic and slice off the tops. Wrap heads in foil and bake for 45 minutes, or until garlic is very soft. Let cool.
2 Grease a 9-inch-by-5-inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, squeeze out the soft garlic pulp and mix with flours, sugar, olive oil, baking powder, rosemary, and salt. Add beer and stir until just combined (don’t overmix). Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before unmolding and slicing.
If you’re looking for a hearty bread packed with flavor (and beer!) than this is a winner! And if you’re not 100% on the garlic train, I think even just using one bulb of roasted garlic vs. two would still give it that same great garlicy flavor. And if you are a garlic person and decide to use the 2 bulbs, pass the altoids 🙂