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Authentic Guinness Irish Brown Bread

November 13, 2019 by Laura 14 Comments

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This past summer my beloved and I traveled to the west coast of Ireland. He searched for family while I sought great Irish food. Let’s begin with bread. Now I wouldn’t ever turn down excellent challah or a spectacular croissant. But I hold a special place in my heart for Irish brown bread. And after much investigation, I found the recipe that truly rocked my world. Authentic Guinness Irish brown bread that is simple to make and transports you, at least in spirit, to the Emerald Isle with every bite. 

Two slices of authentic Guinness Irish brown bread with tea and butter

When I began looking for my ideal brown bread I had no idea that the secret ingredient would be Guinness. Or that I would get the recipe from a lovely French woman, in a sunny basement kitchen in a corner of western Ireland close to Tralee. But after embarking on the hunt, I had to leave preconceptions behind. 

I knew the bread would have to be dark and rich. It would need to be moist. And while it would need to be healthy, it also needed to seem like a treat. Finally, it had to taste just right with that incomparable Irish butter, which I enjoyed far too much. I tasted the bread at every restaurant, pub, and B&B where we ate. It was tough work, but someone had to do it. I ate a fair amount of mediocre brown bread. But I never gave up hope. And then I was rewarded.  

Where I found My Favorite Brown Bread 

When we got to Barrow House, a B&B on what is called the “Wild Atlantic Way,” we found much to enjoy. Daragh, the owner and operator of the B&B, is a lovely woman. 

Daragh, the owner and operator of Barrow House, where I had the best Irish Guinness brown bread

The location and house itself are stunning.  The west coast of Ireland is lush, with greenery most places you look. But it is really the raw, rocky shorelines that took my breath away. 

Looking out on the bay near Barrow House

The house itself is remarkable. And I didn’t just admire the decor in the gorgeous sitting rooms on the first floor, I read on the couch in the white room and checked out the comfy chair in the blue room, looking out over the shoreline. I even spent several hours working at a desk in one corner of the white room. My only regret was that I didn’t get to enjoy them for longer. 

The blue sitting room in Barrow House B&B near Tralee

hallway in Barrow House, a B&B near Tralee

While our room was small, every detail was thoughtfully arranged. Plus, it had the sweetest little private terrace with a kumquat “tree” that made me smile every time I looked at it. 

the kumquat tree on the terrace of our room at Barrow House

And the breakfasts! Ooh lala. They were the best that we had in Ireland and probably in years. Unfortunately, I was too busy eating to take photos of the scrumptious spread, including the brown bread. But I did snap one of my omelet one morning, just before I demolished it. 

omelet at Barrow House, with a sprig of rosemary

The Chef, Catherine

Breakfast was in a comfortably crowded room. B&B guests expect to meet others at the communal meal, but one never knows whether encounters will be more than “please pass the butter.” In this case, we enjoyed a warm welcome from Daragh and lively conversation with other guests – the kind of B&B breakfast atmosphere you read about in guide books, but do not experience all that often.

After tasting the brown bread, I shyly asked Daragh whether I could have the recipe. She disappeared for a few minutes, while I wondered who the breadmaker was. She reappeared and led me into the sunny kitchen where I met Catherine Bellein. 

Chef Catherine who made the authentic Irish Guinness brown bread

Not only did Catherine give me the recipe for her Guinness Irish brown bread and allow me to blog about it, she explained how she makes it. When I got confused as to what  an ingredient is, she stopped writing and grabbed it off the shelf.  Black treacle for instance. Once I looked inside the tin and smelled the treacle, I realized it is like molasses.

I kept the scrap of paper she wrote on through the rest of our travels, with her references only to metric amounts of ingredients and Irish names for ingredients, such as “oat porridge” and “bread soda.” (Frankly, keeping track of that piece of paper required more focus than I could have imagined. As I lost t-shirts and toiletries in the chaos of my suitcase and purse, I always checked to make sure I had the recipe.) Then when I came home, I translated the measurements and “translated” the ingredients to American terms.

Treacle, an ingredient in authentic Irish Guinness brown bread

Authentic Guinness Irish Brown Bread

This bread uses baking soda for the rising agent rather than yeast, so it is really a type of soda bread. Like the Irish soda bread I’ve blogged about before, this one bears little relation to the Irish-American soda bread we enjoy on St. Patrick’s Day.  But the buttermilk and white (or full) whole wheat flour, make Irish soda bread light compared to this one. With molasses and stout, Guinness brown bread is darkly colored, rich tasting, and craggy looking.  

two slices of Irish Guinness brown bread with butter and tea

The recipe uses only 7 ingredients. 

Ingredients for Irish brown bread

It comes together quickly too. Just mix dry ingredients, then add the wet ones and scoop into the loaf pan. 

dry ingredients for Irish brown bread

Adding wet ingredients to dry ones for Irish brown bread

Irish brown bread in pan ready to bake

After about 50 minutes, the thick batter rises just a bit and becomes deep brown. I like to think of the crust as looking the the shoreline of the west coast of Ireland – untamed and inviting. 

Irish brtown bread fresh out of the oven 

A slice of Irish brown bread with the loaf in the background

 

two slices of Irish Guinness brown bread with butter and tea
Print

Authentic Guinness Irish Brown Bread

Rich and moist, this authentic Irish Guinness brown bread is simple. With lots of dark stout, it slices into a treat on its own or with a full meal.

Course Bread
Cuisine Irish
Keyword beer, bread, brown bread, Guinness, Irish food
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 1 loaf
Author Laura

Ingredients

  • 4 cups whole wheat flour 450 g
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats 50 g (See note)
  • 1/4 cup demarra (turnbinado) sugar 62.5 g
  • 3&1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 50 g
  • 2 tablespoons molasses
  • 15.2 ounces Guinness stout beer 450 ml

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter or oil the loaf pan.

  2. Whisk the dry ingredients (whole wheat flour, baking soda, rolled oats, and sugar) together. Set aside.

  3. In a bowl, mix the butter and molasses. Add the Guinness.

  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold them gently together until well combined.

  5. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and smooth out the top. It will remain rough-looking, but make sure it is even in the loaf pan.

  6. Bake for approximately 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out of the bread clean. The internal temperature should be 200 degrees F. Let the bread cool in the pan before unmolding.

Recipe Notes

This bread tastes strongly of whole wheat. If you prefer more oats, add a full cup of oats and lower the flour to 3 & 1/2 cups. 

Catherine says to add the butter and molasses into the Guinness, but I don't think it makes a difference whether you do it that way, or add the Guinness to the butter and molasses. 

Filed Under: Archives, Bread, Recipes Tagged With: bread, brown bread, Irish food

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Comments

  1. Mairead says

    March 31, 2020 at 9:09 pm

    This looks delicious. I make regular brown bread all the time, but this Guinness version with a little treacle looks divine. I’ll have to try it.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      April 7, 2020 at 4:56 pm

      It’s quite yummy – hope you try it. By “regular” brown bread, do you mean one like this traditional Irish bread? https://motherwouldknow.com/soda-bread-traditional-irish-american-html/

      Reply
  2. Ms says

    October 14, 2020 at 5:40 am

    Hi .I make this bread with Ina Gartin ‘s recipie .She dosent use the treacle but the bread is beautiful.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      October 28, 2020 at 7:32 pm

      Good to know – thanks.

      Reply
  3. Laura says

    January 24, 2021 at 1:58 am

    When using the option for more oats is it 1 and a half cups in total or increase it to 1 cup? Thanks!!!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      January 26, 2021 at 4:08 pm

      Increase to 1 cup (from 3/4 cup) oats and decrease flour by 1/2 cup to 3 & 1/2 cups.

      Reply
  4. Douglas says

    March 11, 2021 at 2:41 pm

    I make this bread every year in March now and dip it in a guinness reduction suace with some olive oil. Sooo good.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      March 12, 2021 at 11:26 am

      Douglas, that sounds so yummy!

      Reply
  5. Lua says

    March 17, 2021 at 3:23 pm

    What size loaf pan did you use?

    Reply
    • Laura says

      March 17, 2021 at 3:32 pm

      Lua, The interior dimensions of my loaf pan are 4.25″ by 8″. I think it’s pretty standard and if yours vary, but not by a lot, this recipe should work in it. Hope that helps.

      Reply
  6. Marty Mueller says

    March 1, 2022 at 4:22 pm

    Searching for Guinness bread recipe and I stumble onto this post? I rented Barrow House in Sept 2019 for my golfing group; we loved The breakfast there of course and to this day keep in touch with Darragh – as Covid derailed plans for a 2021 and now 2022 wedding there for my Olde set daughter.

    Trying this bread recipe is a must – what a great post you have done!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      March 1, 2022 at 4:32 pm

      How wonderful to make that connection with you and our shared love of Barrow House. When we were there, we got to talk to both Darragh and her chef. I hope both of us get there soon, and that if you talk to Darragh, you’ll send out regards.

      Reply
  7. Emma says

    March 18, 2022 at 10:55 am

    Hi. I really want to try this recipe!
    Do you use strong whole wheat flour for this recipe? Or just whole wheat flour?

    Reply
    • Laura says

      March 21, 2022 at 1:48 pm

      Emma, Thanks for stopping by. Hope you do try it. I just used “regular” whole wheat flour, not strong.

      Reply

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