Salami-Asiago Beer Bread

I love making beer breads because there is no need to let the bread rise. You basically combine the dry ingredients and then dumb in a can of beer and you are good to go.

This bread was the perfect pairing for the sausage mac and cheese. The salami flavor was mild and didn't overpower the bread and cheese flavors. And, for two non-beer drinkers, we loved the very mild, background beer taste that came from our liquid ingredient!



Salami-Asiago Beer Bread
Adapted from Cooking Light

Yield: 16 servings @ 14 calories each

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
13.5 oz all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
3/4 cup Asiago cheese, shredded
1 (12 oz) bottle of lager-style beer (I used a Bud Light)
2 oz finely chopped salami
2 tbsp melted butter, divided

1- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2- Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in pepper and garlic; cook 1 minute.
3- Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Add onion mixture, cheese, and beer to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
4- Spoon batter into a 9x5" loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle 1 tbsp butter over batter. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Drizzle remaining 1 tbsp butter over batter. Bake an additional 25 minutes of until deep golden brown and a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Mine took about 15 minutes instead of 25.) Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.