Easy Guinness Beer Bread

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Easy Guinness Beer Bread has only 4 ingredients! It’s an easy no yeast bread that has the texture of bread thanks to the beer! This bread recipe is the perfect side dish for stew or soup.

Why I love Beer Bread

I may not like drinking beer, but I still like beer in my bread. Especially when it’s GUINNESS! Not only is it easy, but the texture is that of actual bread, even though this is an easy quick bread, no yeast – because of the beer!

Whenever I make soup or stew or salad, I always want a side of bread. This easy beer bread recipe has only 4 ingredients and comes together in minutes so it’s an easy side dish for any time of the year, especially if you’re making beef stew or corn beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day.

4 Ingredient Bread

Self-Rising Flour: this is crucial for the 4 ingredient label. Self-rising flour is flour with baking powder and salt added in. Don’t have it or can’t find it? Refer to my How to make Self-Rising Flour guide.
Sugar: this is also needed. The bread isn’t sweet as it is, without it the bread would be bitter. A little sugar helps every recipe. Because I’m using Guinness, I used brown sugar. Granulated sugar or honey would also work.
Butter: all good baking recipes need fat. This recipe has melted butter in the bread and on top (for flavor and color). You can also use oil or melted coconut oil, if you prefer.
BEER: obviously. Guinness bread wouldn’t exist without adding beer! I love the flavor of Guinness in this, but use your favorite. The bubbles in the beer help the bread rise without yeast!

collage of 6 photos showing how to make the bread

How to make Beer Bread

Pan: you’ll want to use a loaf pan, either 8×4 or 9×5.
Whisk self-rising flour and brown sugar until no lumps remain. Stir in beer and 3 tablespoons of the butter. Batter will be thick.
Spread batter in prepared pan. Brush with remaining 1 tablespoon of butter.
Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Expert Tips

What’s the best beer for beer bread? I don’t know what the best beer for beer bread is, but I’m going to give it a go and say that it’s Guinness. Guinness is a dark and rich beer, which gives the flavor of this bread a savory and rich taste. Regardless of what beer you use (because you can use any kind), this bread is easy to make and easy to eat.
Store this bread wrapped well in plastic or in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to a month.

Variations

Add 1 teaspoon dried herbs to the batter! I think this would be great with thyme or rosemary or Italian seasoning.
Use honey, maple, or agave syrup in place of the brown sugar
Add garlic to the batter: 2-3 cloves minced or 1/2 teaspoon powder.
Add cheese: white cheddar cheese would be fantastic! Stir it in after adding the beer.

FAQs

Does beer bread have yeast?

No – the beer acts as the yeast for rising. Because this recipe uses self-rising flour, it is a real quick bread. You could probably make this into a sweet beer bread by using a lighter beer and more sugar (or honey) but using Guinness makes it perfectly savory and great with a nice slab of butter.

Can kids eat beer bread? Will I get drunk off this bread?

One thing that’s great about any beer bread recipe is that the alcohol cooks out; this is a kid-friendly side dish. The bread doesn’t taste like Guinness (remember, I don’t like drinking beer!) but it does lend a savory and rich flavor to the bread. It’s the main component, so even if you don’t want to make Guinness Beer Bread, use a beer you’re in love with. I’m especially interested to try a cider or one of the new flavored beers.

Can you freeze beer bread?

Freeze this stout bread wrapped well in plastic wrap. You can also freeze slices.