Instructions: A CAN of beer, sugar, self-rising flour. Short of first imbibing the other five cans in the six-pack, how can you take a wrong turn making beer bread? It is simple and a much-beloved staple. But baking is a more exacting science than most forms of cooking, and beer bread is evidence that things can go awry in the simplest recipes. Our anonymous reader follows a standard beer-bread formula -

(12-ounce) can of beer, three tablespoons sugar and three cups self-rising flour, baked in a greased loaf pan at 375 degrees for an hour - but finds lumps of dough in the finished product.

Readers were quick with suggestions. Denise Heenan, Linda Silva of Morgan Hill and Mildred Ferguson of Carmel were among the trouble-shooters who think Anonymous should eliminate a step that calls for the dough to rest for 30 minutes. Immediately place the dough in pans, then in the oven, they advise.

Ferguson points out that she bakes the bread at 350 degrees, rather than 375 degrees. and several readers noted that our beleaguered baker uses three tablespoons sugar rather than the two called for in their recipes. Marilyn Golden takes a little different approach. After stirring together the ingredients, she turns the dough out on a floured board and kneads a few times, until the dough can be easily handled. She cuts the dough in half, shapes each piece into a long, narrow roll and bakes in a baguette pan for 35 minutes or until nicely browned. and Judy Gerleman of Palo Alto thinks Anonymous is missing one delicious step. After 50 minutes of baking, you pour 1/2 cup of melted butter over the loaf and continue baking for the final 10 minutes. For the record, Home Plates includes a basic beer-bread recipe from Rosa Bennett of Campbell. Its slightly different than the three-ingredient version, but Bennett swears by it. She likes to use dark, strong beers. The recipe comes from the Queen Victoria Cookbook, from a bed and breakfast in Cape May, N.J.

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