Self-Rising Flour Brown Ale Beer Biscuits

Not that you need an excuse to buy good beer this weekend, but here's a recipe that calls for brown ale.  Brown Ale Beer Biscuits are a variation on traditional no-yeast beer bread, but in biscuit form -- or rather, muffin form. 

Because the batter is thin and gloppy, it needs to be baked in a muffin pan to keep it together, but the texture is more like a biscuit.  And the flavor is impressive! You really can taste the beer, and it does make a difference what brand you use.  I got the best flavor when I used Brooklyn Brown Ale, but I also had a nice and slightly more subtle beer flavor when I used Real Ale Brewing's Brewhouse Brown Ale.  Hmm, I'd say you really need to experiment with as many beers as possible.

Beer Biscuits Recipe Tips

Another fun thing about Brown Ale Beer Biscuits is the salt. The biscuits are a bit sweet, and I found a topping of a little kosher salt really enhances the flavor.  Butter helps too, of course.  And finally, I've only tested these with self-rising flour.  If you have all the ingredients for self-rising flour substitute (1 ½ cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt), you could use that instead.  But I like keeping a bag of self-rising flour in the freezer for biscuits and a few other things. 

Substituting Guinness for the Ale

I went back and made another batch of these biscuits using Guinness, since that's what I had on hand, and it worked perfectly. The dough behaved exactly the same, and the biscuits baked up tall and tender with a slightly deeper color. Flavor-wise, the Guinness added a subtle toasty note without making the biscuits taste like beer - just a little more savory and "pub-style."

If Using Guinness: Let the beer sit out for a few minutes so it's mostly flat before mixing. Guinness works well as a substitute for brown ale because it's malty and not overly bitter, and the flavor bakes off gently, leaving the biscuits savory rather than beer-forward.

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Recipe

Brown Ale Beer Biscuits

Anna

Beer bread made in biscuit form

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Cooling Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Servings 12 biscuits

Ingredients

 

• 1 tablespoon softened salted butter for rubbing muffin pan
• 1 ½ cups self-rising flour (190 grams)
• ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
• 6 ounces half a bottle of good quality ale
• 6 teaspoons melted butter
• 1-2 pinches Sea Salt or Kosher salt for topping

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Rub a 12 cup muffin tin generously with butter, preferably salted.
• In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and beer to make a sticky, lumpy, batter.
• Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups by scooping heaping tablespoons into the cups. It won't come anywhere near the top, but don't worry. The batter rises.
• Spoon about ¼ to ½ teaspoon of melted butter over the dough in each cup.
• Bake on center rack for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned.
• Pull from the oven and top with a little more melted butter and some flakes of sea salt or Kosher salt. Carefully pry the biscuits from the muffin tins.
• You can serve them immediately, or reheat later. The beer flavor is more pronounced the longer they sit.

Keyword Ale, Beer Biscuits, Guinness

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