This is a nutritious quick bread that has all the flavor of pizza, and you can load it with your favorite pizza topping!
I’ve probably baked more in the last month than in the entire previous year! Making bread every week with “Ginny Junior,” my sourdough starter, as well as brioche for Easter and lots of other baked goods.
Woolgathering
There’s plenty of time these days to let the mind wander, and you never know what little idea will pop into your head. When I made pizza one night for supper last week, I was thinking about how much everyone loves the flavors in a pizza, the tomato, the oregano and basil, the cheese. I also thought about how so many people love to eat pizza and beer together! Would the flavors work in a bread?
An hour, start to finish
I decided on a quick bread for a change, something that would take about an hour start to finish. This uses one bowl, one mixing spoon, and a measuring cup and spoon, and comes together in about five minutes.
I started with Aunt Jeanette’s quick beer bread, an incredibly simple recipe. Although her bread recipe called for all white flour and a little wheat germ, I decided to use two parts white whole wheat flour to one part unbleached all purpose to boost the fiber. Both flours were organic. I didn’t have wheat germ, so I also added flax seeds to compensate for the white flour’s lack of fiber!
Her recipe also used lots of butter, a quarter cup, which I substituted with half the amount of a fruity olive oil.
Use the pizza herbs you have on hand, fresh or dried
I did not have any fresh oregano, so I used dried and some fresh basil from my windowsill as well as a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme that just greened up in the garden.
Olives from the refrigerator, sun-dried tomatoes from the pantry
I decided to give it a try, and use a couple of my favorite pizza toppings: olives and sun-dried tomatoes. I had them, they were waiting to be used. I didn’t have any mushrooms on hand, but those would have been my first choice, lightly sautéed. I had some left-over pizza sauce, so I brushed the bread with this before baking. Part-way through baking, just for fun, I topped it with mozzarella cheese. I used a dairy-free version, but you can use what you have.
How would you like your pizza?
What do you like on your pizza? Caramelized onion? Pepperoni or sausage, regular or vegan? Pineapple? Sautéed peppers? Whatever you love, chop them up and use about a cup total.
The next time…
I loved the texture of this bread. Although made with primarily the whole grains, it was tender and delicious. Now, I want to try this next time with a yeast bread, using the beer in place of the water. I will use my sourdough recipe, perhaps I’ll flatten the proofed dough, spread the “topping” ingredients, then roll it all up like a cinnamon bun….or maybe just make pizza and beer wheels and cook them in a muffin pan.
I’ll have to think on it; so many possibilities!
Quick Pizza and Beer Bread
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup ground flax meal
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tbsp. double acting baking powder, non-aluminum
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp. dried oregano
- 2 tbsp. fresh herb of choice, optional
- 1/2 cup or so black olives, sliced
- 1/2 cup or so sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
- 1/4 cup or so pizza or tomato sauce
- 1/4 cups or so mozzarella, grated, low-fat or dairy-free
- 2 tbsp. fruity olive oil
- 1 bottle dark beer or ale, 12 oz.
Preheat your oven to 350, and grease a loaf pan. To make it easier to extract from the pan since it will have a cheesy topping, make a sling out of parchment paper to line, leaving wings overhanging on the edges.
In a large bowl, combine the flours, flax, sugar, baking powder, salt, pepper, spices, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes. Mix well with a spoon.
Add the beer and oil all at once, and combine gently (it will foam up like mad) just until no streaks of flour are visible. As with any quick bread, do not over mix, just blend as little as possible. The batter will be nice and thick, like a good muffin dough. In fact, you could turn this into muffins!
Turn into the prepared pan flatten the top, and spread the pizza sauce evenly.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the cheese. Return to the oven and cook another 15 minutes, until the cheese just starts to brown and the bread reaches an internal temperature of about 205ºF. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean with a few crumbs attached.,
Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove, using the wings to lift it out of the pan. Let cook a few more minutes, then slice and eat warm!
Gluten-free alternative: Use King Arthur’s gluten free baking mix, measure for measure, and a gluten-free beer, and you are all set!
Aunt Jeanette’s Beer Bread
Oven 350º. Mix together: 3 cups of flour, 1/4 cup wheat germ, 2 tbsp. sugar, 1 tbsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt. Add 1 bottle of beer and 1/4 cup melted butter. Grease a loaf pan, and bake 45 minutes.
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👍grazie
You are welcome!
Yum two of my favorite things. Pizza & beer. Sounds great to me 🙂
Hi Dorothy! Thank you for sharing! Wow looks yummy and all of the taste pounding flavors!
And perfect with a cup of coffee!
For me it would be more of a brunchin compliment, with a lot more beverage options. 💕
Of course, we mustn’t forget the tea!
This sounds great, Dorothy!
Thanks Jennifer, I hope you give it a try!
You really do have some lovely bread recipes, Dorothy..there is nothing like beautiful home baked bread 🙂
I agree. For me, it brings back memories of my childhood, my mom always baking up a storm. She absolutely loved to bake bread, and continued to do so until the end of her life.
This looks great, Dorothy.
Thanks so much, I’ll save you a slice!
i know what you mean! i have baked and cooked and eaten nonstop since this thing began:) Hubby and i will look like elephants soon. great looking bread. cheers Sherry
I won’t want to get on the scale for a month after this is over!
What a novel idea! 🌟
It was fun, and even as I was making it, my mind kept wandering to other combinations!
Sounds great–as the French would say, comme d’habitude (as usual).
Merci Angela!
What a great idea! I love pizza and I could eat it everyday! A bread with my favorite pizza topping…mhhhh! Sounds really delicious 😋😉
It was really good! Next time, I’ll try it with the mushrooms.
YUMMMMMMMMM
I have Aunt Char’s Beer Bread Recipe. There’s no wheat germ in it as I recall. I haven’t made it in years, but now might be the time to resurrect it. I like your Pizza take on it. Clever and yummy.
Thanks Ally! You know, I think my Aunt Jeanette put wheat germ in just about every bread she baked, whether it was in the recipe or not! I’m sure she just added this as her little spin. Most beer breads are really simple, flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, butter, and beer! I’d go ahead and use the recipe you already love and add the little extras!
Great twist on beer bread Dorothy!!
Thanks! I love to take old family recipes and give them a little twist!
Pizza and beer…the perfect combination…and in bread, no less. Delicious!
It was a hit all around!
Two great things in one loaf… your creativity always impresses me! Hope you’re safe 🙂
Thank you! We are trying as hard as possible to keep safe, stay put, and stay in a positive state of mind! You take care too!
That’s great new, Dorothy. Keep doing what you are and hopefully we’ll see an end to it soon 🙂
Let us hope and keep optimistic!
Pizza and beer are so good…and in bread form, no less…Yum!
Reblogged this on Recipe Goals.
OMG I never would have thought of this but my Husband just got lunch for a week with this recipe. Love the idea thank you!
You’re very welcome! It’s a fun recipe!
What a fun recipe. I almost wanted to chew on my computer it sounded so good. Thanks for this post.
Thanks! It will taste way better than the computer, and it is really simple to make!!!