Have you ever fancied baking your own Guinness brown bread? Keep this practical recipe on hand for when a lazy Sunday afternoon invites you to explore your kitchen creativity.
Drawn from the Irish Mammy Cooks collection, in which Orla Drumgoole presents a hundred homely recipes—from treasured traybakes and brown bread to straightforward dinners the entire family will enjoy. The collection is crafted for everyday cooking, offering plenty of simple tips to keep the week nimbly on track.
Orla explains: ” A Guinness brown loaf is heartier than ordinary brown bread, yet it remains straightforward. With fewer ingredients, it still delivers a bold flavor. It comes together in about five minutes—an ideal project for a relaxed Sunday afternoon. It freezes beautifully as well—slice and layer with parchment paper for the best results.”
Yields two loaves of about 900 g
110 g butter
85 g treacle
500 ml Guinness
300 ml buttermilk
900 g wholemeal flour
85 g oat bran
85 g demerara sugar
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
Method
• Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-assisted. Line two loaf tins (each around 900 g capacity) with parchment paper.
• In a pan over a low heat, melt the butter together with the treacle. Once melted, remove from the heat and stir in the Guinness. Add the buttermilk and mix again.
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, oat bran and sugar, then sift in the bicarbonate of soda.
• Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until everything is fully combined – I find a spatula handy for coaxing every bit of the treacle from the pan and from the bowl later on!
• Divide the mixture between the two prepared tins.
• Bake for 45 minutes, then remove from the oven and immediately turn the loaves out of the tins. The loaves should sound hollow when you tap the bottoms. If not, return them to the tins and bake for another five to ten minutes – but no longer.
• When the bread is done, cover with a clean tea towel or muslin so you don’t end up with a hard crust.
For more recipes like this, see here.
