There is nothing that will bring childhood memories flooding back like the smell of fresh baked bread. I remember my mother toiling for hours kneading the dough, waiting for it to rise and after what felt like an eternity in the oven, my favorite challah buns would appear. The people at Krusteaz have taken a lot of this work out of the equation with their new Artisan Bread Mixes. Making Krusteaz breads is simple. You mix the package of ingredients with 12 ounces of your favorite carbonated beverage and bake for around 50 minutes.
It would be no shocker to anyone that reads this blog that Krusteaz sent us their new Beer Bread mix to sample. What might surprise Krusteaz is the applications their mix was used for. We make our first loaf of beer bread with Sam Adams Cold Snap, a Belgium White Ale with a blend of exotic fruits & spices including orange peel, plum, hibiscus & fresh ground coriander. The Sam Adams Cold Snap bread is fantastic. A great companion for cheese, wine of course even more Sam Adams Cold Snap.
With our next loaf we decided to go off the beaten path just a little bit more. We added a bottle of Harpoon Brewing’s Honey Cider and a fresh chopped apples to the Krusteaz. This resulted in a delicious fruit bread. It was quickly apparent this version of Krusteaz Beer bread would make a delicious breakfast companion. As you can see in the pictures accompanying this blog the Harpoon Brewing’s Honey Cider made a tasty French toast, it is also wonderful on its own.
For our last loaf of Krusteaz Beer Bread we went in a totally different direction. We added a bottle of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout and chocolate chips to the mix. This resulted in a darker bread that looked pumpernickel in nature but not in taste. The chocolate and coffee notes in the beer and the chocolate morsels played off of each other better than expected. We topped a slice of the bread with a scoop of coffee ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. Beer Bread nirvana.
With the vast varieties of craft beers and carbonated beverages on the market the possibilities are endless with Krusteaz Beer Bread. I would think craft beer offerings from brewers that use unconventional brewing ingredients like Dogfish Head Brewing and Night Shift Brewing would lend themselves to many recipes. I thoroughly enjoyed baking and eating Krusteaz Beer bread mix, I am definitely a fan. Now it is time for another Krusteaz /Sam Adams Cold Snap grilled cheese sandwich.
