Reduced Sodium Quick & Easy Beer Bread

This quick and easy recipe has about one third of sodium in a shop-bought bread and requires no kneading and no long waits - a breadmaker dream. 

This is a recipe that uses beer and baking powder as leavening instead of yeast. It takes just a few minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to bake, so a fresh bread can be produced quite economically in just over an hour. Sodium comes from baking soda. 

The sugar reacts with any residual yeast in beer (which varies from beer to beer) and can therefore help to make the bread rise a bit more. Leaving the dough stand in greased loaf pan for 15-30 minutes, covered with a clean towel and pull away from the hot kitchen, beer helps to start work before you put the bread in the oven. 

If you wish to use artificial sweeteners, you should still use a few tablespoons of sugar or honey to promote beer to respond and then top up the quantity required with artificial sweetener. 

Cinnamon and ginger are used as a substitute spices for salt in the basic recipe .

Reduced Sodium Fast and Easy Beer Bread

(Sodium content approx. 950mg per bread, 8-10 slices) 

    2 ½ cups * all-purpose flour 

    * 1 ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar 

    * ¾ teaspoon of baking soda 

    * 1 ½ teaspoon of powdered cinnamon and ¼ - ½ teaspoon of ground ginger (to taste) 

    * 3 tablespoons (1 ½ oz/45g) sugar (or 2 tablespoons sugar plus 1 ½ packets of artificial sweetener) 

    * 12 oz (360ml) can of beer 

Directions:

   1st Blend all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. 

   2nd Add beer. 

   3rd Mix with a spoon or a spatula, without beating or whisking until just blended. 

   4th Turn into a greased 9x5 "(23x12.5cm) loaf tin and let stand in a warm place for 15-30 minutes. 

   5th Bake in an oven preheated to 375 º F (190 º C) for 45 minutes until slightly brown. 

Baking too long resulting in a hard crust, which makes the bread difficult to cut evenly; a softer crust can be achieved by packing bread in a towel as it cools. 

The bread can also bake in same oven as a second bowl, which requires a slightly different baking temperature for example, for a dish that requires a temperature of 325 º F (160 º C) Add 10 minutes baking time, and reduce the time little to a dish requires a higher temperature. The higher the temperature, the crustier bread will. When you are finished, the bread sounds hollow when the pressure at the bottom. 

Because no yeast is used and the bread is kneaded, it is still pretty crumbly. The bread is best when cut the day after, because it gives the bread to determine (less crumbly) and flavor to infuse but in any case allow the bread cool completely down before slicing. 

After cooling, the bread should be wrapped in plastic film or a plastic bag: it can then be frozen or stored in the refrigerator for a few days. When defrosting a frozen bread, allow to thaw naturally instead of using the microwave oven (this can cause the bread to go stale quickly). Cut slices about ¾ inch (1.5-2cm) thick or more. The bread should provide 80-10 slices. 

The bread is a perfect breakfast bread, smeared with cream cheese or your choice of canned or served as an accompaniment to soups and appetisers in general (also in an empowered version, with or without garlic). Slices may be too thick for many toasters, but the bread makes great French toast and bread crumbs. 

When you use heavier flours such as whole meal or rye flour, you may want to use honey instead of sugar for a slightly firmer texture. 

Furnaces and climates vary: you may feel a need to add an extra ¼ teaspoon of baking powder to produce a slightly lighter loaf. Adding an extra ¼ teaspoon of baking powder increases the sodium content of 300 mg. 

Baking powder can be substituted for cream of tartar and baking soda. Add 1 teaspoon per cup of flour. 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder contains 1300mg of sodium.