Author Notes
A while back my neighbor (she who loves tres leches cake) brought me a loaf of the jalapeño beer bread from the Czech Stop (http://www.czechstop.net/) and said, "Learn how to make this, only better." I got working on it and came up with a pretty damn good jalapeño cheddar beer bread. It occurred to me that the bread already had some primary breakfast components (cheese, jalapenos, beer) (don't judge) and only needed a bit of tweaking to truly be a breakfast item -- enter bacon and maple and voilà: breakfast bread! This is easy enough to make in the morning, it's wonderful warm from the oven, and it also toasts up nicely if you'd like to make it the night before. —aargersi
Test Kitchen Notes
This bread made my weekend. The interesting blend of flavors and textures was delicious and unexpectedly fun. In alternate bites, you get spicy, sweet, salty,and creamy. It was a cinch to make and smelled wonderful. With great deviled eggs and a Bloody Mary, you have a great and easy New Year's (or any day) brunch. The next day it made great (OMG!) French toast (I fried it in olive oil with a touch of bacon fat). Two great breakfast treats for the price. —Annie stader
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Ingredients
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5
strips bacon
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2
jalapeños (depending on heat level -- ours are pretty hot right now so I used 2)
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3 cups
self-rising flour
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1 cup
finely shredded sharp cheddar
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1/4 cup
maple syrup (preferably grade B)
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1
beer (I used Abita Amber which gave it a nice but not overpowering beer flavor)
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4 ounces
cream cheese
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4 tablespoons
melted unsalted butter
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2 tablespoons
maple sugar
Directions
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Heat the oven to 350° F. Crisp the bacon in a skillet. When the bacon is cooked, drain it on paper towels and pour 3 tablespoons of bacon fat into a loaf pan (to be honest, I didn't measure, I just dumped. Five strips center-cut bacon produced what looked like about 3 tablespoons of fat). This bread is not for the faint of heart: Did I mention that?
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Roughly chop the bacon. Remove the stems and seeds from the jalapeños and roughly chop them.
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Put the flour into a mixing bowl. Mix in the cheddar cheese. Now make a well in the middle and pour in the maple syrup and the beer. Mix together until everything is moistened and combined (a few lumps are okay).
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Break the cream cheese into small chunks (I just pulled it apart by hand, but you can also cut the block into smaller pieces) and drop them into the dough. Add the jalapeños and bacon and fold them in until everything is uniformly mixed. Now scoop the dough into the loaf pan and spread it evenly. Pour the melted butter on top (yeah, I know) and put the pan on a baking sheet and into the oven. Set the time for 20 minutes.
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At 20 minutes, sprinkle the sugar on top of the loaf, then bake the bread for another 40 minutes, or until a toothpick test comes out clean. Allow the bread to cool for about 10 minutes before turning it out of the pan.
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There. Breakfast.
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