Have you ever tried Irish brown bread? I have to warn you, it’s impossible to eat just one slice once you’ve tasted it. During a recent trip to Ireland with Globus Choice Touring, everyone on our tour couldn’t get enough Irish brown bread. At every restaurant and meal, each of us seemed to look for brown bread on the menu. Yes, it is that good!
What is it that makes this bread so irresistible? It is full of flavor! Irish brown bread tastes both bitter and sweet, a bit nutty and malty, and it has a hearty texture too. It’s great with a smear of butter and jam, or served alongside your favorite soups or stews.
This authentic Irish brown bread recipe is hearty and delicious, with a rich brown color and nutty flavor from wheat flour, rolled oats, and molasses.
Why is brown bread so popular in Ireland?
When visiting Ireland, you’ll notice Irish brown bread is served at almost every pub and restaurant with a side of creamy Irish butter. It’s as common as a pint of Guinness and is typically made with a bit of Guinness too!
One of the reasons brown bread is so popular in Ireland is historically white flour was more expensive than wheat flour. Though today, that is quite the opposite. When baking Irish brown bread at home, look for the highest quality whole wheat flour you can find. And if you can find stone ground wheat flour, even better!
What is the difference between Irish soda bread and Irish brown bread?
What do you eat with Irish Brown Bread?
Irish brown bread can be a meal on it’s own with just a spread of soft salty butter. But typically you’d serve it alongside a bowl of potato soup or Irish beef stew. But it is also great with simply butter and fruit chutney or jam. It also pairs will with a sharp cheddar cheese and is perfect cut into smaller slices for a cheese board. We’ve also it thin to use it as sandwich bread too.
Guinness Irish Brown Bread
I adapted this recipe from the Guinness brown bread recipe given at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. The things I changed were reducing the volume and size of the recipe for a home cook or baker, and I swapped the heavy Irish steel cut oats for simply rolled oats which I had more success baking with. This recipe has been tested multiple times, so I hope you enjoy the same results we have!
Irish Brown Bread Ingredients
whole wheat flour: This is what gives Irish brown bread its nutty flavor and hearty texture. While you cold substitute with all-purpose white flour, it would not produce the same results as far as flavor and color. Try to find the highest quality whole wheat flour available at your local grocer or health food store. If you can find stone ground, even better! We used King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour when testing this brown bread recipe.
rolled oats: Rolled oats or old fashioned oats are simply oatmeal in the United States, like what you’d find available in brands like Quaker and Bob’s Red Mill. You could also use quick oats as a substitute.
salt: Salt enhances the flavor of all the other ingredients in this brown bread recipe. It also balances out the bitter and sweet. You don’t need much, just a pinch.
baking soda: Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is a leavening agent used to help the bread rise and give it a fluffy texture.
dark brown sugar: Dark brown sugar adds a touch of sweetness and color to Irish brown bread. It balances the bitter and nutty flavors of the molasses and Guinness included in the recipe. If you can’t find dark brown sugar, you can also use light brown sugar.
molasses: Molasses, also called treacle, is a thick dark syrup that is a byproduct of refining sugarcane into sugar. It’s the color of strong coffee, and pours thick like honey. Molasses is the main ingredient that adds color to this Irish brown bread recipe, enhancing the color of the wheat flour and Guinness as well. As for flavor, Molasses tastes slightly sweet, malty, and bitter.
Guinness: Guinness adds moisture and a delicious complexity of flavor to this brown bread recipe. There are flavor notes of caramel, coffee, and chocolate with a bitter nutty essence of hops. The carbonation also aids in helping this dense bread rise.
buttermilk: Buttermilk is the liquid that is left behind after turning cream into butter. It’s fermented, with a tangy flavor similar to cottage cheese. And it gives a nice rise to baked goods.
honey: Honey gives a light touch of sweetness to this brown bread recipe while also enhancing the earthy, nutty flavor of the bread.
melted butter: Melted butter helps soften the bread, crisps up the crust when baking, and tastes more flavorful than using vegetable oil. To melt the butter, add two tablespoons of butter to a small microwave dish and microwave for 10 seconds at a time until the butter is melted.
How To Make Irish Brown Bread
Start by gathering the ingredients listed above. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a bread loaf pan by cutting out a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan. Then spray the inside of the loaf pan with non-stick spray (I like to use Pam Baking). This recipe will fill a large loaf pan (8 inches x 4 inches) or two mini loaf pans (5 inches x 3 inches).
Add the dry ingredients (whole wheat flour, rolled oats, salt, baking soda) to a mixing bowl and blend together with a whisk. Once they look blended, mix in the brown sugar.
Make a sort of hole or well in the dry flour mix to make room for the liquid ingredients. Pour in the molasses, Guinness, buttermilk, honey, and melted butter.
Stir together with a spoon or spatula until all the ingredients are well mixed. It’s best to do this by hand so the ingredients don’t get over mixed.
Spread the dough into the loaf pan with a spatula, making sure to press it into the corners. Draw or cut a line down the middle of the dough with the spatula to give the bread a vent to expand. Garnish the top of the Irish brown bread by sprinkling the top of the dough with rolled oats.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. (If cooking smaller mini loaves, it will only take 45 minutes)
Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool. Slice and serve with Irish butter. Enjoy!
Irish Brown Bread
This Irish brown bread recipe is hearty and delicious, with a rich brown color and nutty flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 Cups whole wheat flour
- 3/4 Cup rolled oats (plus a pinch extra to garnish top of bread)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
- 1/2 Cup molasses
- 1 Cup Guinness
- 1 Cup buttermilk
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 2 Tbsp melted butter
Instructions
- Start by gathering the ingredients listed above. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a bread loaf pan by cutting out a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan. Then spray the inside of the loaf pan with non-stick spray (I like to use Pam Baking).
- Add the dry ingredients (whole wheat flour, rolled oats, salt, baking soda) to a mixing bowl and blend together with a whisk. Once they look blended, mix in the brown sugar.
- Make a well in the dry flour mix to make room for the liquid ingredients. Pour in the molasses, Guinness, buttermilk, honey, and melted butter. Stir together with a spoon or spatula until all the ingredients are well mixed. It's best to do this by hand so the ingredients don't get over mixed.
- Spread the dough into the loaf pan with a spatula, making sure to press it into the corners. Draw or cut a line down the middle of the dough with the spatula to give the bread a vent to expand. Garnish the top of the Irish brown bread by sprinkling the top of the dough with rolled oats.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. (If cooking smaller mini loaves, it will only take 45 minutes)
- Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool. Slice and serve with Irish butter. Enjoy!
Notes
This recipe will fill a large loaf pan (8 inches x 4 inches) or two mini loaf pans (5 inches x 3 inches).
What is substitute for Guinness….dont drink…thanks for recipe!!! Minnesota
Hi Katie! You can substitute it with water. The Guinness gives a bit more flavor and tang, but I understand if you don’t drink. You’ll still get a nice color and flavor from the molasses and buttermilk. Enjoy and happy bread baking! Stay warm up there!
I followed the recipe batter came out a little thinner then pic and it overflowed. Don’t think the Guinness did it any justice next time I’ll just make brown bread
When any alcoholic beverage is heated to this temperature, the alcohol in the beer will neutralize, just leaving the flavor you described in the write-up.
Hello- what is a good substitute for buttermilk? Will regular milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar work for this recipe?
That would work! Use the milk with vinegar.
Milk and and acid is *not* a replacement for butter milk.
Definitely making this! It is wholesome and nutritious and I love baking with booze 😂. Thanks for the recipe!!
Hi! Do you use salted or unsalted butter, please? Thank you!
I use salted 🙂
Shoot! I am making this now and the batter overflowed my 8×4 loaf pan. My batter looks a bit thinner than what I see in the photo but I can’t identify where I might have added volume. I’ve split into two pans and will see how they come out. The little cooked bits tasted great so I’m optimistic this is a good recipe… I must have botched it up. Anyhoo, just an FYI in case anyone is making it. My batter came to about 3/4″ below the top of the pan.
Oh no! Hope splitting it into two pans rescues it for you. Sounds like maybe one of the ingredients was mis-measured. Happens to me sometimes too.
Mine did the same. I even came back here to recheck the recipe to make sure it wasn’t a transcription error. Followed all the ingredients and mine was more like a thick cake batter. I’m cooking it anyway cuz yum lol.
Made this for St. Paddy’s day instead of my usual soda bread and it turned out really well! Will definitely make it again!
I made this for St Pat’s day. Delicious and the recipe turned out perfect, just like the picture!
Would mind to please provide the weights for the amounts of flour and oats used? So much more accurate in reproducing recipes. It would be a great help since it si so much more convenient to just put the bowl on the scale and measure the amounts into it. Saves messing up the measuring cups as well, especially with the honey and molasses, although I suppose most folks know the weights of tablespoons of liquids.
I made this and it was super. I am a bread enthusiast from way back and I like Irish Brown Bread. I made a simple yeast mixture in place of the Guinness and it worked well.
I perhaps lost a bit of the flavor provided by the Guinness but made up for it by baking this loaf in a cast iron bread pan. The iron produced a slight smoky flavor which is accents the molasses and brown sugar.
My wife and I live in the Pacific Northwest and love fresh salted salmon which we make ourselves. We like to spread Philadelphia Cream Cheese on the bread and apply thin strips of the salmon on top. Excellent contrast of flavors. Thank you!