For this recipe, I actually made a recipe with measurements and everything.
Reason: I can't eyeball flour. Unless I carefully measure flour, it will get everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Seriously, my mom has seen her kitchen destroyed many times by my reckless use of flour. And have you ever tried to wash flour out of your hair? That's a trick question, because you can't. It turns to paste. You have to brush it all/most of it out before you can even begin the process of washing your hair. It's a nightmare.
But this bread isn't a nightmare. I love beer bread and adding sausage and cheese only ever makes things better. I typically make a breakfast casserole for Christmas morning, but I thought this year I would switch it up. I usually assemble the casserole on Christmas Eve, and bake it in the morning. BUT! With this bread, I can make it Christmas Eve or EVEN EARLIER and still have an indulgent breakfast treat! Sure, you can eat this anytime of the year, it's not obnoxiously Christmas, you know red and green or looks like santa. But until December 26th, everything revolves around Christmas!
Side note: I would eat Luke Dane's santa burgers year round. Oh, and was Rory always this terrible or is it just the revival?
Rory's homewrecking ways are not in the spirit of Christmas. But this bread is. So crank up the Christmas music (I recommend the Michael Buble Christmas station on Amazon Music) and get baking!
what you need:
3 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 bottle beer (natty boy or another light-flavored beer will work very well)
1 pound raw breakfast sausage
1.5 cups mild cheddar cheese (shredded)
Oil (olive, walnut, grapeseed, coconut, whatever)
Salt
Pepper
the 10 steps:
01. Preheat oven to 350 F.
02. Heat oil over medium high heat. Remove the sausage casing and cook the meat using a wooden spoon to break up the pieces.
03. Once the meat is browned, set aside on a paper towel to soak up the excess grease.
04. Let your pup, who is probably begging by now, have a teeny bite of sausage. If you don't have a dog, taste it yourself or look up adoptable dogs.
05. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, salt).
06.If the sausage is in large clumps, use a food processor to break it up into fine pieces. You can also use a knife if you don't have a food processor or if you just don't feel like having to clean yours. If you do get out your food processor, go ahead and run the cheese through as well.
(I didn't run the cheese through the food processor here, but I should have.)
07. Fold the sausage and cheese into the dry ingredients. Make sure it is well mixed so there is sausage and cheese in every bite!
08. Use the "pasta method" to incorporate the beer into the dry mix. To do this, push the dry batter to the sides of the bowl so there is a well on the middle. Pour the beer into to well. Then slowly star mixing the dry mix into the beer.
09. Transfer the dough into a greased bread pan. Don't forget to spray the sides of the pan and be sure to spread the dough evenly.
10. Bake for 30 minutes. If it is not done after 30 minutes (a toothpick does not come out cleanly), continue baking and check on it every 5 minutes until cooked through. Remove from oven once cooked and pour the melted butter over top.
Happy Holidays!
