Classic Irish Stout Bread
A Rich No Kneading Bread
This Classic Irish Stout Bread is so quick and easy to make. It is hard to believe such a great tasting bread has such little work to it. The full bodied taste of the stout beer and molasses really make this bread heavy and robust in flavor. It is just perfect with your favorite butter, cream cheese and savory toppings. Don’t be fooled by a sweet jam with this bread either. Jam complement the sweetness of the molasses. It is a very nice combination. My favorite is marmalade or strawberry jam on top. I am sure you will find your favorite topping.
Choosing A Good Stout To Use In Bread
When people think of stout they think of Guinness Irish beer. Well honestly I do to, but there are so many good stout beers out there. I picked an absolutely delicious Imperial Stout beer from our local brewery here in Spokane Washington called Wrecking Ball by No Li brewery. It is a fantastic stout for Classic Irish Stout Bread. So if you were looking for a stout that would be similar to this one I would pick a caramel tasting stout or oatmeal. They would both work perfectly for this bread.
How To Make Classic Irish Stout Bread
There are a lot of recipes for stout bread and most people sift the flour to get lumps out. I have found that it really doesn’t matter that much to get the lumps out. The dough is liquid like and pumped with beer yeast that it powers right through the flour lumps. Although, like in the video, I sieve the baking soda because it often has lumps. They can be bitter so I suggest getting the lumps out.
After all the dry ingredients are mixed together in the bowl make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. This is where you will pour the wet ingredients into. It will bubble because of the beer and baking soda but it will not bubble up very high. Add all the liquids in with the stout beer and stir together until you can still see dry flour lumps in the mixture. Do not over mix. Pour into the parchment lined bread pan and bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Stick the bread with a toothpick or knife to see if it comes out clean while cooking. It should come out clean when it is done. Let it rest for 5 minutes before taking it out of the bread pan. When ready turn upside down and pull out of the pan and pull the parchment paper off. Some people put the parchment under the entire pan and use it to lift the bread out of the pan. This is helpful but I like to just line the bottom of the pan. Let it completely cool before cutting into the bread.
Using Alternative Ingredients
I use organic white flour for this recipe but I have used organic whole wheat flour and it still comes out beautifully. It has a heavier texture but if that is what you are looking for I highly recommend trying it. I have yet to try spelt flour and I think that would work just as well. It is so easy to mix and match with this recipe but I just wanted to give you the classic version today.
As for the plant based milk, I use coconut milk. I love it because it leaves the bread so moist for days. Homemade bread can dry out so fast but i find that the coconut milk helps it to stay soft and moist much longer. I can’t taste the coconut because the stout and molasses are the dominate taste in this bread. I have used almond milk and that works just fine. To make the buttermilk with plant based milk I use apple cider vinegar and the vinegar helps to activate the stout.
As for the butter I use vegan butter. You can use olive oil in this recipe instead of butter. It works out really nice. I just like the butter taste. Plus, in most beer recipes for bread a lot of butter is poured on top before it is cooked. Just pour it in this recipe instead. It has less oil or butter than some recipes. I find it to be very moist so there is no need for all the extra butter.
I hope you like this Classic Irish Stout Bread as mush as we do. Enjoy!
Classic Irish Stout Bread
Equipment
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- 1 Large mixing spoon
- 1 Bread pan
- 1 Set of measuring cups
- 1 Set of measuring spoons
Ingredients
Making Plant Based Buttermilk
- ⅔ cup Plant Based Milk
- 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Classic Irish Stout Bread Ingredients
- 2⅔ cups Organic White Flour or Organic Whole Wheat Flour
- ¾ cup + 2 Tbsp Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 2 tsp Sea Salt
- 2 tsp Baking Soda, sifted
- 1 330ml bottle Stout Beer
- 2 Tbsp Melted Vegan Butter or Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp Molasses
Instructions
Making Plant Based buttermilk
- In a small bowl add the plant based milk of choice and add the apple cider vinegar to it. Set aside to let curdle.
Making the Stout Bread
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and line with parchment paper a 1 pound baking loaf pan.
- In a large mixing bowl mix together the dry ingredients. The flour, oats, salt and sifted baking soda. Make a well in the middle of the mound of mixed flour and pour the stout beer, buttermilk mixture, molasses, melted vegan butter or olive oil into the hole in the middle of the flour. Mix together with a large spoon. Mix it just until it is mixed together to where there are still lumps in it. Do not over mix.
- Pour into the prepared baking loaf pan. Put in the preheated oven. Cook for 45 minutes or until it is slightly raised in the middle. The bread will normally have a split on the top down the middle.
- Before taking out of the oven check for doneness by sticking a toothpick or knife into the bread to see if it comes out clean.
- When done take out of the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before trying to take it out of the loaf pan. Use a butter knife to loosen the sides of the bread. Turn it upside down in your hand and it should fall right out. (Use oven mitts to hold the pan) Put it on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into.
- Enjoy!