Guinness Irish Brown Bread

Guinness Irish Brown Bread

Makes 1 loaf

In a quest to explore baked deliciousness across cultures around the globe, the next step on my journey is Guinness Irish Brown Bread.  Why Guinness Irish Brown Bread in August you ask?  Fair question!  My boyfriend had just picked up some Guinness and requested a stout bread.  While exploring recipes, I came across Guinness Irish Brown Bread.  His eyes lit up when I suggested it, so here we are.  Even though it’s 95° outside, he made a beautiful Shepherd's Pie to go with it (we got lucky that we happened to have most of the ingredients on hand, but had to swap ground lamb for ground turkey) and they made a delicious pair!  Yes, in this house we sometimes base an entire meal around a side dish, or even a dessert for that matter.  Does anyone else do that or are we the only ones?    

Guinness Irish Brown Bread is related to Irish Brown Bread, but it’s sweeter, much darker and more dense.  It reminds me more of a pound cake than a bread.  (The traditional Irish Brown Bread recipes I came across call for stone ground whole wheat flour, omitting Guinness and sugar.  In the future I’ll do a dive into Irish Brown Bread so I can see how different it is.)  Guinness Irish Brown Bread seems to be common in Ireland and is usually enjoyed with breakfast or lunch.  You can dunk it in your favorite stew, soup, or enjoy it as a side to your meal and slather it with butter (Irish butter if you have it – it’s sooo good).  *I personally love salted butter.  I love it on bread, toast, bagels, crackers, basically everything, and keep it on the ready on my kitchen counter year-round.  This bread comes together in about an hour from start to finish and doesn’t require any yeast, kneading or rising times.  The chemical mix of baking soda and buttermilk take care of that by creating small carbon dioxide bubbles in the dough.  I recommend thick cut slices here.  If you cut it too thin it will probably fall apart.

We loved the taste and the ease of this bread.  Plus, the entire house smelled amazing while it was baking in the oven.  I had to stop myself from eating more than two thick slices with dinner.  We ate it again the following morning with our breakfast and it was just as good, if not better.  We reheated a few slices on a baking sheet in the oven for about 7 minutes at 350°.  I’ll definitely be making this bread again.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quick cooking oats + 3 tbsp (divided)
• 2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
• ¼ cup AP flour
• ½ cup dark brown sugar (packed)
• 2 ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 bottle Guinness beer (11.2 ounces, room temperature)
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter (melted) + ½ tbsp (cold - to butter the pan)
• 1 ¼ tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp molasses (I used regular, not blackstrap)

 Equipment:

• 9x5 inch loaf pan
• Large mixing bowl
• Medium mixing bowl
• Dry measuring cups
• Wet measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• Whisk

                                                     

Directions:

Butter a 9x5 loaf pan with ½ tbsp cold butter and move the oven rack to the middle position.  Preheat the oven to 425°.

In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients (1 cup quick cooking oats, 2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour, ¼ cup AP flour, ½ cup dark brown sugar, 2 ¼ tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder and 2 tsp kosher salt) and whisk together.

In a medium bowl, add all wet ingredients (1 bottle Guinness, 1 cup buttermilk, 5 tbsp unsalted butter, 1 ¼ tsp vanilla and 1 tbsp molasses) and whisk together.  *It may look curdled but that’s just the foam from the Guinness, so don’t worry!  It freaked me out when I first saw it until I realized what it was.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk together, dough will be wet.

Add the batter to the loaf pan and sprinkle with the 3 tbsp quick cooking oats.  Place into the oven and immediately reduce the oven temp to 400°.   Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then gently remove it from the pan and transfer it directly to a cooling rack.  *To remove it from the pan, I suggest gently running a dull knife around the edges (so you don’t cut the bread or accidentally score your pan).  Tilt the pan on its side (you may still need an oven mitt to hold the pan) and use a spatula to carefully slide the bread out.  Then carefully tilt it so it’s upright on the rack.  Bread can be stored well wrapped on your kitchen counter or in the fridge for a few days. 

 Enjoy!

 

 References:

• https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/irish-brown-bread/
• https://www.mcall.com/entertainment/food-drink/mc-ent-irish-brown-bread-20180222-story.html
• https://motherwouldknow.com/authentic-guinness-irish-brown-bread/