Italian Beer Bread with Sun Dried Tomato Butter

This was my final contribution to my grandma's happy hour birthday party. Back when Boy #1 turned six in February, he requested Little Ceasar's pizza for his family birthday dinner. Since no one other than my two kids are big fans of that, I made an executive decision to have a happy hour type party for him, so he could still have his pizza, but the rest of us wouldn't be forced to eat it. My brother and his girlfriend came down from Seattle for the party, but she ended up getting really sick while they were visiting, which meant no one wanted to touch our house with a 10 foot pole, meaning my family didn't end up coming over for his birthday dinner. Instead we had our best friends over to celebrate with us. I had this bread recipe slated to make for it, so I went ahead and made it. We all liked it so much I decided to make it again so my family could actually try it!

Italian beer bread and sun dried tomato butter
Source: SnappyGourmet.com via Pinterest

Bread:
3 1/2 cups (15oz.) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 oz. beer
2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (optional)

Butter:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×5 inch bread pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cheese, baking powder, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt, garlic powder, onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon pepper until well combined. Pour in beer and stir until just combined.

Place dough in prepared bread pan. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of butter on top of bread if desired.

Bake bread for about 50-70 minutes or brown and crispy around edges. Cool slightly then remove from pan.

Meanwhile, place 1/2 cup butter, sundried tomatoes, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in food processor and process until smooth. Serve with bread.

Notes
SNAPPY TIPS: Be sure to cook the bread until is browned and crispy around edges so that it’s cooked through the middle. If you don’t add butter to the top of the bread, you can cover the bread halfway through the cooking time to help prevent overbrowning before the bread is cooked through.

*****

Like I said above, I had already made this before, so I knew it was a winner. I love a good quick bread recipe, and this comes together really easily. The sun dried tomato butter is tasty, too, although it is really hard to spread if you keep it in the fridge. This is a relatively easy appetizer to make, and I know it's one that I'll make a lot in the future.