Baking For the "Society Matrons League"

Picture courtesy of Cook's Country

In honor of my youngest brother's birthday, I baked him a loaf of cheddar jalapeno beer bread as part of his gift- he's a serious beer enthusiast and the designated craft brewer for the upcoming 'Cue & Brew', The Granary.

In the 'I Love Lucy' episode, 'Pioneer Women' Lucy makes bread for the 1st time and ends up with this...


...after using 13 cakes of yeast! The bread used on the set was a real loaf, made by a local bakery and the audience were given huge slices after filming- what a treat!

Before popping my beer bread in the oven, I noticed it growing slightly and thought of Lucy's moment of panic when she opened the oven to be bombarded with her mammoth loaf! Fortunately, I wasn't met with the same disaster.

I neglected to take a picture of my homemade beer bread before wrapping it up so you'll just have to take my word that it was beautimous and would have met the approval of 'Mrs. Pettebone & Mrs. Pomerantz':)

Recipe (courtesy of Cook's Country):

Makes one 9 inch loaf

• 8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, 4 ounces shredded and 4 ounces cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 2 jalapeño chiles, seeded and minced
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (12-ounce) light-bodied beer, such as Budweiser
  
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

• 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.

• 2. Stir jalapeño chiles into bowl with cheese. Combine shredded and cubed cheese, chiles, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Stir in beer and mix until well combined. Pour into loaf pan, spreading batter to corners. Drizzle melted butter evenly over top of batter.

• 3. Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool bread in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto rack. Cool completely and slice as desired. (Although this bread can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, after the second day the bread is best toasted.)

Happy baking,

Tiffany