This is my favorite bread recipe at the moment: it doesn’t get any easier or faster, and it makes a nice dense rustic bread that everybody in the family likes.  And if by some chance you have a batch of homebrew that didn’t turn out perfectly or just some spare beer you’d rather eat than drink, this is a great way to put it to good use and free up the bottles for the next batch.

Ingredients:

3½ cups flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. salt
12 oz. beer

Directions

1. Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Add beer and mix until just combined.
2. Knead in the bowl.  For a smoother consistency, turn out onto a floured board and knead.
3. Form into loaf and turn out into bread pan, or onto a baking sheet.  For a crisper crust, brush with an egg beaten with 1 Tbsp. of water.
4. Bake for 50 minutes at 375°F.

Source: Slightly adapted from USA Weekend “Recipe: Homemade bread in under an hour“.  The original recipe says to bake “about 45 minutes”, but every time I’ve sliced a loaf after 45 minutes, it has had a pocket of uncooked dough in the middle.