Things have been a little quiet around B&B through the holidays. James and I made our three and a half day trek from New Jersey to San Antonio, arriving just in time for the family’s Christmas Eve celebrations.
I decided to take a little break and really enjoy my family. I’ve been having a blast with my nephew and niece, David and Ava. We’ve baked sandwich bread and muffins, we sit together at the dinner table each night, and my favorite part of the day is asking them each what their favorite part of the day has been. Hearing David talk about his latest art project, or Ava about learning to read – it’s priceless.
I made this bread just before we left New Jersey. I’ve been obsessed with Beer Bread for a long time. I love Jamie’s recipe, and I use it nearly every time we make soup or chili on a cold Winter night.
What you might find odd is that while I cook with beer all the time, I never drink it. I’ve never learned to love the taste of it as a beverage, but I think it’s a fabulous ingredient!
The bottled alcoholic beverage of my choice happens to be Woodchuck Hard Cider. Made with champagne yeast and fine apple cider in Vermont, Woodchuck Hard Cider is bubbly and sweet with just the right amount of spice. It certainly smooths all the rough edges for this girl after a long day of work.
One evening, James and I were chilling on our deck, each with a cider, and a thought popped into my head – maybe I could adapt that beer bread into a cider bread, and head in a sweeter direction. I knew it had to be Woodchuck, simply because of that champagne yeast.
I’m happy to say that Hard Cider Bread is exceptional – perfectly apple-y and moist. It’s somewhere between a quick bread and a pound cake, and because all the alcohol bakes off, it’s appropriate for breakfast or dessert.
If you’re looking for a super easy and quick sweet bread to take to a family function or potluck, this is the ticket. I guarantee you no one else will have tried Hard Cider Bread, so you’ll be the talk of the potluck.
Very soon, you’re going to see a bread pudding made from this bread. My mouth waters a little just thinking about it.
I hope that you’ve had an exceptional start to 2012, my friends.
Woodchuck Hard Cider Bread
Adapted from My Baking Addiction’s Beer Bread
Ingredients
3 cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
4 tablespoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
3/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 12 fl. oz. bottle Woodchuck Hard Cider (I used Amber)
1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
1/2 cup chopped Walnuts or Hazelnuts (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375F.
Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine ingredients and aerate.
Add brown sugar and whisk again.
Pour the bottle of hard cider into the bowl and stir until just combined.
Add cranberries and nuts (if using) and mix just until well distributed.
Spray an 8″ bread pan with cooking spray, then pour batter into the pan.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the bread is golden brown. Top with butter if desired and allow to melt for the last 2 minutes of cooking.
Allow to cool completely before removing from the bread pan to slice.
Absolutely fantastic toasted with a slather of good Irish butter and a strong cup of tea.
Disclaimer: I have not been asked by Woodchuck Hard Cider to write this post or develop this recipe, nor have I been compensated in any way. I simply love their products. I think you will too.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m not a great beer or cider drinker but I love the idea of using them in a bread – this looks like it has an awesome texture. I can only begin to imagine how good it must taste!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you too, Kathryn! I think you’d really like this.
A recent subscriber …. first-time comment. Enjoying B&B posts!
Will try this recipe soon. All the ingredients sound so yum together. Love adding cranberries. To anything! Have you tried fresh?
We all have issues w/nuts in our fam. No problem to leave out most likely.
Yes to Irish butter ….. delicious! Last month I bought exactly that at Whole Foods. A new type …. w/less salt and fat content. Really good on toast & taters.
HNY 2012!
Hi Marcee – so glad to have you visit. Thanks for commenting! I love fresh cranberries too! I just didn’t have any on hand when I made this recipe.
You should be fine to leave out the nuts, but if you want to add some crunch, try adding sunflower seeds. They’re seeds, so shouldn’t be an allergy issue I believe.
That new Irish butter you’re talking about is from Kerrygold Irish Butter. I recently made 4 compound butters with that and actually won a contest from them. Try the Texas Gold compound butter. I could eat it on a shoe and be happy! http://www.bluebonnetsandbrownies.com/2011/11/01/compound-butter-recipe/
Oh my goodness, this is GENIUS! I am not a beer drinker, either… But, I keep a case of Guiness for chocolate cakes, chili, and things of that sort. Never thought to try using hard cider. I do love to drink it, too. Yum!
I can’t wait to hear what you think of it, Jen!
As soon as I read this post, I stopped, grabbed my iPhone and added hard cider to my grocery list! Pretty damn brilliant, my friend! Happy New Year to you!
Inspired by you, babe. I think you’re going to love it.
I love your disclaimer for this post… and I love cider too, as you well know. Methinks a new bread is on the roster for next week.
Let me know when you make it!
I baked this yesterday…yummy! I subbed “Splenda” brown sugar and it worked just great with no “fake sugar” taste. Thanks for another great recipe!!!!!
Michele, that’s a great idea. My dad is diabetic, I’m sure he’d appreciate this bread baked the way you did.
I am all over this! I love a good beer bread, and this recipe looks exceptional. I’ll be waiting for that pudding. ;-)
I have to bake it again! We ate it all before I could get the bread pudding made. But I think you’ll get exactly what I mean when you make it. It screams bread pudding the minute it’s out of the baking pan.
Wow that is a long drive in the middle of winter :) Love the bread idea with Hard Cider! BTW – your Commentluv doesn’t work there is an error there.
Thanks for letting me know about Commentluv. It seems to break every now and again. It was a long drive, but it was also pretty fun. This bread is so good! I hope you try it.
Love this! So unique!
Thanks, Katrina!
Thanks for the recipe! I will be making this today with Jules Gluten Free Flour. I will let you know how it comes out. If it comes out well may I post it on Jules’s Facebook page with a link back to your site. This would be a great recipe as it egg and dairy free. You have already highlighted that it can be nut free with sunflower seeds. If it works then it could be made gluten free. Also the hard cider makes it gluten free friendly. I sometimes sub the hard cider in many recipes that call for beer.
{ 1 trackback }