Whole Wheat Guinness Bread

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day with an Irish bread that uses almost a whole Guinness with just a sip left over for the baker to enjoy! Guinness and molasses give this bread a deep brown hue and slight sweetness. The tender crumb is perfect for a slab of rich Irish butter and jam. This bread gets its rise from baking soda and baking powder so it comes together quickly and rises dramatically for a fast and satisfying loaf. This recipe has been adapted from Ina Garten's Guinness Brown Bread recipe. 

Yield: 1 loaf

Total Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup (227 g) buttermilk
• 1 cup (113 g) Janie's Mill Oat Flakes (Rolled Oats)
• 2 cups (240 g) Janie's Mill Black Emmer or Turkey Red Flour
• 1/2 cup (60 g) Janie's Mill Sifted Artisan Bread Flour
• 2 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. salt
• 5 Tablespoons (71 g) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 Tablespoons (42 g) molasses or barley malt syrup
• 1 1/4 cup (10 oz.) Guinness beer, room temperature

Instructions

1. Combine the buttermilk and rolled oats and let sit at room temperature and soak for at least 1 hour and up to overnight in the fridge. This will give the oats time to fully hydrate. 
2. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 450F. Grease an 9 x 5 in. pan with melted butter.
3. In a large bowl, combine the Black Emmer, Sifted Artisan, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the beer, buttermilk soaked oats, melted butter, and molasses.
5. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Quickly stir the batter until it is well mixed. It will begin to bubble as soon as the wet and dry are incorporated as the beer and baking soda begin to react. 
6. Pour the batter into the pan immediately and sprinkle the top with oats. Put the bread in the oven and turn the temperature down to 400F. Bake for 45 minutes until the bread is deeply golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Turn the bread out onto a baking rack and allow to cool completely. Slice and serve with salted butter. Store the bread for up to a week at room temperature.