The past few weeks I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to do much baking. When I do have some time, the only thing I want to do is zone out and catch up on my DVR. The couch sucks me in and won’t let go. In all honesty, It’s not like I’m putting up a good fight though either. The other night I was following my latest routine (shoes off, sit on couch, push ‘on’ button, and swiftly move finger from fast forward to play) and had a craving for olives, cheese and bread. Rather than try to come up with a sandwich of sorts, I turned to my favorite beer bread recipe.
This bread definitely hit the spot! It was dense but soft, with bites of salty olives. Yum! Not a fan of sun-dried tomatoes, simply leave them out and increase the amount of olives. Next time, I might increase them anyway. I think I’ve mentioned my unhealthy obsession with olives a time or two. It’s a little out of control.
Green Olive and Sun Dried Tomato Beer Bread
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp dried basil or marjoram, crushed
- 1 – 12 oz can beer
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese
- 1/3 cup sliced green olives (about 6-8 large olives)
- 4-5 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 8x4x2 inch or 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, oregano, baking soda, salt, and basil or marjoram. Add the beer, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, Asiago cheese, green olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir just until combined (batter should be lumpy).
3. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle top of batter with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or till golden. Cool in a pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Serve warm alongside some warm marinara sauce. Best if served same day.
