Sourdough Irish Brown Bread With Guinness

This Sourdough Irish Brown Bread With Guinness is a delightful fusion of tangy sourdough and rich, malty Guinness beer, resulting in a hearty loaf with a depth of flavor that's simply irresistible.

If you’re looking for more St. Patrick’s Day inspired recipes, check out some of my other favorites like Thin Mint Biscotti, Sourdough Irish Soda Bread, or Slow Cooker Beef Brisket Stew.

A Quick Look At The Recipe

• Recipe Name: Sourdough Irish Brown Bread With Guinness
• Ready In: 1 hour
• Makes: 10 servings
• Main Ingredients: whole what flour, salted butter, molasses, Guinness
• Flavor Profile: dark brown bread with a hearty flavor
• Dietary Info: eggless, no seed oils
• Difficulty: Easy!
• Why You’ll Love It: easy brown bread perfect for St. Patrick's Day

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Made with Sourdough Discard: Made with sourdough discard—a byproduct of feeding and maintaining a sourdough starter—this organic bread embodies the ethos of reducing waste while creating something truly delicious! My two favorite things!
• Guinness: This homemade bread with Guinness beer adds complexity and depth to this bread, infusing it with notes of roasted barley and caramel for a sweet and simple loaf bread that’s perfect with just a pad of butter.
• Easy AF: This sourdough discard Guinness bread is easy AF! It literally took me just a few minutes to mix up the batter and I didn’t even need to get out my stand mixer. You know a recipe is easy when even I don’t want to use the mixer! You will love this homemade bread with Guinness for St. Patrick's Day.

What is Irish Brown Bread?

Irish brown bread is a traditional quick bread made with whole wheat flour, baking soda, buttermilk, and usually Guinness. It’s dense, hearty, and full of nutty flavor, without needing yeast or long rising times. This bread is popular because of its strong roots in Irish heritage, its wholesome ingredients, and its versatility—delicious on its own with butter or served alongside soups, stews, and more!

I grew up in Chicago, where most everyone I knew was Irish. While I'm not Irish in the slightest bit, St. Patrick's Day was always something we celebrated because everyone around us did. So, it's a nostalgic holiday for me! So, I'm super excited to share this Sourdough Irish Brown Bread with Guinness! This brown bread is quick and easy, perfect for celebrating St. Patty's Day!

This was another recipe collab with my friend Hannah at Make It Dough! Each month we create a recipe that uses sourdough starter or sourdough discard in easy, fun, and creative ways! So, of course we had to make an Irish inspire recipe this month! Past recipes include Eggless Sourdough Molasses Cookies, Sourdough Discard Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, and Sourdough Pretzel Buns!

Ingredients

• Blackstrap Molasses: I use organic blackstrap molasses, this is where this brown bread gets its color.
• Buttermilk: Organic buttermilk gives this bread a little tang. You can use store bought or if you don't have any, easily make your own with this Organic Buttermilk Recipe.
• Guinness Beer: You'll need Guinness beer for that rich dark color and flavor of traditional brown bread.
• Whole Wheat Flour: I use organic whole wheat flour, this also gives this brown bread some of its dark color as well as its hearty flavor.
• Sourdough Discard: You can use your sourdough discard straight from the fridge.
• All Purpose Flour: My favorite is Cairnspring Mills.

*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.

Baker's Tips

• Weigh ingredients for the best results.
• This is an Irish quick bread, so you notice there's no yeast here! This uses baking soda to leaven it so it makes it quick and easy (hence the name, quick bread!).
• While there is Guinness in this bread, the alcohol reduces significantly during the baking. So, this is safe for kids too!
• I don't use sugar in this bread as I don't think it needs it with the alcohol and molasses, but if you want it a little, you can add in 50 grams of cane sugar along with the flour.
• Don't overmix the batter, it should look more like a lumpy cake batter than a dough.
• Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing. This will ensure it doesn't break and you get nice clean cuts.

How to Make Sourdough Irish Brown Bread With Guinness

1. Preheat oven to 400°F and line a 1-pound loaf pan with parchment paper. (I actually didn't use parchment paper here as I used my Caraway Loaf Pan and I didn't need it!) In a small pot, add the butter and molasses and put over low heat until melted completely. 

2. In a small bowl, whisk together sourdough discard, Guinness, and buttermilk until no traces of discard remain. 

3. In a separate bowl, add the whole wheat flour, oats, flour baking soda, and sea salt and whisk together

4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the butter mixture and Guinness mixture in.

5. Stir the ingredients together until no dry bits of flour remain, make sure you scrape the bottom. Don’t overmix. The mixture should look more like a cake batter than a dough. 

6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Using a butter knife or paring knife, make a deep, vertical slice through the center of the loaf. Top with more oats. 

7. Bake at 400°F for 30 minutes. Then without opening the oven door, turn the heat down to 350°F and continue baking for another 15 to 20 minutes or until the center of the loaf has set and registers at least 200°F when probed with an instant-read thermometer. 

8. It's best to let this bread set and cool overnight before slicing. I just let it cool in the loaf pan on the counter.

What to Serve With Sourdough Irish Brown Bread With Guinness

This is delicious with just a pad of butter. The texture reminds me more of a quick bread than a traditional sourdough bread, so I really like it with plan butter. Feel free to add jam!

This would make a great side bread for recipes like Slow Cooker Pumpkin Stew, Healthy Beef Soup With Leeks, or Healthy Sloppy Joe Bowls.

Recipe FAQ's

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