Recipe: Guinness Bread | Cooking On the Side (2024)

Bread

With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, my eyes turned toward the random bottle of Guinness that’s been sitting in my fridge for…well, I’m not even sure how long it’s been there at this point. Long enough that I began contemplating ways I could cook with it, rather than drink it!

I found a terrific recipe for Guinness Bread on the Guinness website. It made a huge, sandwich-quality loaf of dark, lightly sweet bread that was far less cakey than other beer breads I’ve made. Warm brown bread with a good smear of soft Irish butter…definitely one of life’s simple pleasures.

As with most beer breads, this one was very easy to pull together except that, since the recipe came from a European website, it took quite a bit of conversion and Google searching for me to translate it into “American”. For example, I had to confirm that “bread soda” was the same thing as “baking soda” and that molasses would be a suitable substitute for “black treacle”. I have a kitchen scale and measuring cups with metric markers so following all the grams and milliliters wasn’t a problem (it actually made things easy), but I went ahead and converted it all to cups for my American friends who don’t own a scale. Lastly, the oven temperature…170°C doesn’t translate neatly to a standard Fahrenheit temperature (it’s between 325°F and 350°F) so I erred on the side of the lower one, and extended the baking time.

Like I said, the recipe makes a huge loaf. It didn’t say which size loaf pan to use — I’m definitely glad I went with the larger 9″ x 5″ (vs 8″ x 4″) because the batter filled the pan and it domed up substantially during baking. Do yourself a big favor and be sure to do the toothpick check to be sure it’s completely done inside before taking it out of the oven!

You’re in luck — I’ve done all the translations for you in the recipe below. In addition, Guinness has a quick video for this recipe, which I found helpful (I never would have known to mix the butter and dry ingredients with my fingers, like a pie crust). Enjoy this amazing bread!

Guinness Bread

Adapted from the Guinness Bread recipe on the Guinness website.

Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 50 minutes | Total time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Yield: 1 loaf

INGREDIENTS:

5 cups (600g) whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups (150g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (75g) rolled oats
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons (40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups (480ml) milk
3/4 cup (200ml) molasses
1 cup Guinness

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oven to 325°F. Grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.
In a large bowl, use your fingers to mix the butter with all the dry ingredients until the dough develops the consistency of breadcrumbs. Add the milk, molasses and beer and mix, either with your fingers or a wooden spoon, until you have a wet dough.
Pour the dough into the greased loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5 Comments

Aimee @ Simple Bites wrote:
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This looks so dark and delicious, I checked right away to see if there was molasses in it. Sure enough! Can’t wait to try it. 🙂
Posted 3.17.14Reply
Bridget wrote:
I found this recipe thanks to Aimee at Simple Bites. I’m big fan of baking with beer (love the extra flavour boost) so will be sure to give this a try.
Posted 3.17.14Reply
Kate @ Diethood wrote:
I just want to sink my teeth into that loaf! That looks amazing!
Posted 3.17.14Reply
John Ratcliffe wrote:
So, made this exactly as per recipe, used standard sized bread pan. It massively expanded and made a bit of a mess in oven below the loaf pan, no big deal there but the bigger issue was I had to bake it at prescribed temp for about 40 minutes longer (90 minutes total) in order for it to get the clean toothpick. My wife thought it was supposed to be for two bread pans, and that would have likely worked out pretty good. The taste is phenomenal, love it, but have to do something different next time, I believe there was an error in recipe
Posted 12.2.19Reply
- Kathy Strahs wrote:
  It definitely makes a huge loaf!
  Posted 12.2.19Reply

Recipe: Guinness Bread | Cooking On the Side (2024)

FAQs

What is Guinness and Smithwick's called? ›

Guinness + Smithwicks = Blacksmith. Guinness + Newcastle = Black Castle. Guinness + Strongbow Cider = Black Velvet. Guinness + Hard Cider = Snakebite.

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What kind of beer is good for beer bread? ›

Use a plain, ultra light beer like Miller Light. (If you live in Wisconsin and want an upgrade, try New Glarus Spotted Cow.) Go Seasonal. Try making beer bread with pumpkin ale, a nutty brown winter ale, or even a hard cider.

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What do the Irish call a Guinness? ›

In Dublin, there is a pub for every 100 people, and what better way to experience these in true local style, than being able to order Guinness, Ireland's staple alcoholic beverage, in its mother tongue? A “pint of gat” literally translates to a pint of Guinness.

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What is the old name for Guinness? ›

West India Porter evolved over the years, both in recipe and name, becoming Guinness Foreign Extra Stout in 1849.

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Does the alcohol cook out of beer bread? ›

It's important to note that when using beer in bread recipes, the alcohol content will cook off during the baking process, so the bread will not be alcoholic. Additionally, if you are sensitive to gluten, be sure to use a gluten-free beer or substitute another liquid, such as soda or carbonated water.

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Does beer have to be warm for beer bread? ›

Use room temperature beer: This helps the bread rise and creates a better texture than cold beer. Don't over-mix: After adding the beer to the dry ingredients, mix enough until just incorporated and nothing more. Overworking the dough will create a very dense loaf.

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What type of yeast is used in beer and bread? ›

The strains of yeast used to make beer, bread, and wine come from the species of yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae. S. cerevisiae is known as “brewer's yeast” or “baker's yeast” for good reason: it's responsible for the fermentation that makes beer alcoholic and allows a lump of dough to rise into a loaf of bread.

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Is Smithwick's owned by Guinness? ›

Smithwick's was purchased from Walter Smithwick in 1965 by Guinness and is now, along with Guinness, part of Diageo. Together, Guinness & Co. and Smithwick's developed and launched Smithwick's Draught Ale in 1966. By 1979, half a million barrels were sold each year.

What is Guinness and beer called? ›

A black and tan is a beer co*cktail made by layering a pale beer (usually pale ale) and a dark beer (usually stout). In Ireland, the drink is called a half and half. Black and tan. co*cktail. A blend of Guinness stout and Bass pale ale.

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What is a Guinness and IPA called? ›

A Half-and-Half Beer Drink With Many Variations.

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