Cooking with Beer: Bacon Cheesy Beer Bread

Um...so the title of this blog alone should elicit such massive amounts of excitement that me rambling on here is completely pointless, right? Come ON! Beer (duh) BACON (double duh) and CHEESE! The holy trinity, I'm pretty sure that's the definition, right?

I stumbled across this absolute gem of a recipe yesterday, and knew I just HAD to bring it to you to thoroughly enjoy with me! What's not to love? So please join me in combining the most wonderful three flavors known to man (I'm not being too dramatic, am I? oh well).

Bacon Cheesy Beer Bread adapted from crunchycreamysweet.com

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz (1 bottle) STM light beer...your favorite unique flavor
3-4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 c grated mozzarella cheese
1 Tbs dry ranch mix
1 egg + 1 Tbs water for egg wash
STM artisan salt for sprinkling, we like a smoked flavor to compliment the bacon

Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Grease 8" loaf pan and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and ranch mix.) Add cheese and stir with a wooden spoon. Add beer and stir until just combined. It should be thick and lumpy, do not overmix. Place the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle the bacon on top. Brush with the egg wash. Sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cutting board to cool completely.

Now enjoy a slice, maybe topped with tomato sauce, more mozzarella, olives and a few pepperonis?? Heaven...in one intoxicating bite! Don't forget to save a bottle of that beer to enjoy the bread with, eh? Naw,  you wouldn't forget that.