Guinness Soda Bread recipe by Kitty Tait and Al Tait
The ideal accompaniment to soup, this bread balances sweet and bitter
At the Orange Bakery, we make a loaf with malt grains that have been soaked in Guinness for 24 hours to give them a lovely sour juiciness. This bread definitely needs either some treacle or black molasses, but if you’re struggling to find either, honey will be fine – you just need something sweet to balance the bitterness of the Guinness.
Makes 1 loaf
plain flour 250g
wholemeal flour 250g
oats 50g (jumbo are best)
bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp
fine sea salt 10g
soft unsalted butter 40g
buttermilk 200ml (or 200ml whole milk and 1 tsp lemon juice whisked together and left to curdle slightly for 5 minutes)
Guinness or other dark stout 150ml
black treacle or molasses 60g (or use dark honey)
Preheat the oven to 180C fan/gas mark 6 and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Sift both the flours into a large mixing bowl. Add the oats, bicarb and salt, then rub in the butter. Make a small well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk, Guinness and black treacle. Stir until there are no visible patches of dry flour, but don’t overmix otherwise the dough becomes stodgy and the bread doesn’t rise.
Scoop your dough out on to a lightly floured work surface and shape into a round. It’s a sticky dough so you may want to coat your hands in flour or use a well-dusted dough scraper.
Transfer the shaped dough on to the lined baking tray. Using a sharp knife, cut the traditional deep cross cut into the loaf to within 5cm of the base.
Bake in the hot oven for 55-60 minutes or until hollow when tapped. Transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool for 30 minutes before slicing up.
Serving suggestion: This is a great bread for dipping into soup, especially something comforting and beige like leek and potato.
From Breadsong by Kitty Tait and Al Tait (Bloomsbury, £20)
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