Vanilla Oatmeal Beer Bread

For faster baking time or little presents, use mini loaf pans

Invert onto wire rack to cool and enjoy warm or cool for a great dinner addition or dessert 

This recipe was created at a friend's request, and though I've had beer bread in the past (and hated the dry blandness of it) I tried to make a beer bread recipe that was more flavorful and less crumbly that your typical recipe of flour-baking powder-water-beer.  I developed this one using leftover Ninkasi Oatmeal Stout that I had brought back from Eugene for my husband.  I thought an oatmeal stout would lend a rich delicious flavor, and it inspired me to create a crumbly oatmeal topping.  Every now and then I'm asked to make recipes that I cannot taste-test myself; the gluten in beer makes me incredibly sick, but I imagine gluten-free beer and gluten-free flour and oats would work just as well.  Try it and let me know what you think!

P.S. It smells amazing: rich and beer-y with a hint of honey, and though I could not sample even a bite, it received rave reviews at the gathering I brought it to.  The gluten-free variation is in the second suggestion of the ingredients, so give it a go!

Oatmeal Beer Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour or gluten-free flour
1 cup oat flour
2 tablespoons raw cane sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
16 oz. Ninkasi Vanilla Oatmeal Stout or vegan/gluten-free beer of your choice**
3 tablespoons honey or agave
1/4 cup nondairy butter, melted and slightly cooled

Topping:
1/4 cup diced nondairy butter, chilled if possible
1/3 cup oats or gluten-free oats
3 tablespoons turbinado sugar (any kind of coarse sugar works)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 and spray loaf pan or 4 mini loaf pans with nonstick spray.
2.  Sift dry ingredients together, then stir in honey and soy or other nondairy butter.
** if it seems too dry, add a little more beer.  I probably used 17 or 18 ounces of the stout.
3.  Prepare topping by mixing together well, then sprink over batter.  Bake 28-32 min for mini loafs or 45-55 min for full loaf, testing with a toothpick.  Cool a few minutes, then use a butter knife around the edge of the loaf and flip upside down to de-pan.