Name: Cast Iron Beer-Batter Cheese Bread
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces/354 grams) all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup minced fresh chives; 2 tablespoons sugar; 4 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon pepper; 8 ounces (227 grams) Gruyère cheese , shredded (2 cups); 1 1/4 cups mild lager , such as Budweiser; 3 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted

Why This Recipe Works

The beauty of a quick bread is that it can be on the table in less than an hour, but that convenience isn't worth it if the final product doesn't taste good. Recipes for beer-batter cheese bread that we tried produced loaves that tasted sour, like stale beer, or had weak, negligible cheese flavor. Still other attempts at this bread were so greasy that we had to pass out extra napkins. We wanted a lighter loaf enhanced with the yeasty flavor of beer and a rich hit of cheese—and it still had to be quick and easy. Limiting the butter in the batter to just 3 tablespoons imparted enough richness without going overboard. We put a moderate amount of cheese into the batter itself and then sprinkled some extra on top of the loaf to create a beautiful, craggy crust. Making the bread in our cast-iron skillet gave it a great bottom crust and helped it bake through quickly and evenly. It was also key to choose the right beer for clean, subtle flavor without any sourness.

Before You Begin

We prefer to use a mild American lager, such as Budweiser, here; strongly flavored beers will make this bread bitter.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Grease 10-inch cast-iron skillet.

Whisk flour, chives, sugar, baking powder, salt, and pepper together in large bowl. Stir in 1 1/2 cups Gruyère, breaking up any clumps, until coated with flour. Stir beer and melted butter into flour mixture until just combined. Batter will be heavy and thick; do not overmix.

Scrape batter into prepared skillet and smooth top. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Gruyère. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until loaf is golden brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating skillet halfway through baking.

Using potholders, transfer skillet to wire rack and let loaf cool for 10 minutes. Being careful of hot skillet handle, remove loaf from skillet, return to rack, and let cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.