Cheddar and Scallion Beer Bread

No soup dinner is complete without a piece of delicious bread to soak up the stragglers.  You can of course, buy a loaf of french bread to accompany your soup.  Or you can make your own Cheddar and Scallion Beer Bread.  

This beer bread is easy to make, with no yeast or rising required.  You don't need a fancy bread maker and you don't have to knead the bread.  You just combine the ingredients, bake, and ta-da! -- bread.  And not just any bread, a warm crusty bread with a 'melt-in-your-mouth' center.  Perfect with soup or just by itself with some butter.

Ingredients
1 scallion (green onion)
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
3 cups of flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1/8 cup of sugar
1 (12 oz) bottle of beer
2 tablespoons of butter

Preparation
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Chop your scallion, using only the green parts of the onion.

 
2.  Add the baking powder, salt and sugar in a medium sized bowl.

 
3.  Sift three cups of flour into the bowl with the baking powder, salt and sugar.  It's annoying to sift the flour, I know, but just do it.  Your bread will thank you later.

 
4.  Add the scallions and cheese to the bowl, mix until blended (with a spoon).

5.  Add the beer to the bowl (I used Shiner Bock).  

6.  Stir flour and beer with a spoon until well mixed.  You will generally be just turning the dough over and trying to get all the flour blended in.  It will quickly come together into a stiff ball of dough.   

7.  Throw the dough into a greased (butter) loaf pan.  Spread to reach the ends of the pan.  Slice the two tablespoons of butter into thin little pieces and dot on top of the bread.

8.  Place the bread in the oven and cook for 1 hour.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes on a cooling rack.  

 
9.  You can then easily remove the bread from the pan and slice on a cutting board.  Serve warm with some butter!