German Beer Bread and Cheese Dip

I served this as a nibble at a German themed lunch I held for my friends recently and they all enjoyed it. Kind of set the tone for the afternoon which was fun. Along side the bread and dip I served pretzels, a selection of cold meats and gherkins, very German!

what you’ll need

bread

3 cups self raising flour

¹/₂ cup caster sugar

330ml bottle of beer (see tips)

3 tablespoons butter

Sunflower or pumpkin seeds

cheese dip

220g camembert cheese

80 gm cream cheese

1 tablespoon butter

4 spring onions

chopped chives

smoky paprika

 method

For the bread you will need a loaf tin measuring  approximately 140 x 240 cm, lightly sprayed with oil.

In a bowl whisk together flour and sugar. Add 300ml of the beer and whisk until a thick smooth batter is formed. Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

Bake at 190oC for 35 minutes. Melt the butter then pour over the bread in the pan and continue cooking for a further 5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

For the cheese dip bring all ingredients to room temperature (microwave gently if needed). Roughly chop the camembert and cream cheese and mix together, add the finely chopped spring onions, butter and enough of the remaining beer to form  a spreadable consistency. The mixture will not be completely smooth but well incorporated.

Sprinkle with chives and paprika  before serving.

Tips:

 * Any beer will work. The bread does not need the whole bottle, reserve approx. 30 ml for the cheese dip.

* Only add enough of the reserved beer to make the cheese dip spreadable. You will probably only need 10 to 20ml.

* Experiment with different seeds or grains, e.g. poppy seeds, chia seeds, pepitas etc.

* The bread and the dip can be made the day before serving.