Tag Archives: Bread made with Guinness

Irish Barmbrack

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Barmbrack is a fruit-filled, slightly sweet bread that is traditionally served In Ireland on Halloween, but is also enjoyed on St. Patrick’s Day. Originally, it was leavened with the frothy foam produced by fermenting beer, but since I don’t make my own beer, I used good old active-dry yeast instead. In keeping with the “spirit” of the thing, though, I did soak the dried fruit in beer.

Guinness is lovely…dark and rich, with a hint of coffee and chocolate. You can, of course, use any beer. Or milk. Or brewed tea. It’s all up to you.

This isn’t a difficult recipe, but it is time consuming. The fruit needs to be soaked for at least 2 hours, then it needs to rise twice, and since the dough is rich, this can take anywhere from 1 to 2 hours each time. The good news is, the bread tastes even better the next day, so you can make it ahead of time.

And if you’re really rushed, I have an easier recipe for Tipsy Tea Brack that uses baking powder instead of yeast. It’s much faster, and aside from being just a little sweeter, the two breads are very similar. Both were a hit in my household, but I have a weakness for yeast breads, especially when toasted, and didn’t mind spending a day babysitting the dough. Mmmm.

Irish Barmbrack
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Ingredients
  • 1¼ cups liquid (beer, milk, or brewed tea)
  • 1½ cups dried fruit (raisins, sultanas, fruitcake mix)
  • zest from 1 lemon
  • ½ cup very warm water with a pinch of sugar added
  • 1 packet (1/4 oz) active-dry yeast
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or ½ teaspoon. cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon each: clove, ginger, allspice, nutmeg)
  • 4 cups bread flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter (if using unsalted butter, add an additional pinch of salt)
Instructions
  1. In a small pan, heat liquid until steaming, but not boiling. Remove from heat.
  2. Add dried fruit and lemon zest. Cover tightly and let fruit sit for at least 2 hours. Strain into a bowl,. Press firmly on fruit to remove excess liquid. Reserve 1 cup of liquid, discarding any remaining. If necessary, add water to bring the amount to a full cup.
  3. In a small bowl or cup, combine the warm water and yeast. Let it sit until foamy - about 5 minutes.
  4. In a large bowl (a sturdy stand mixer is recommended), combine the cup of reserved liquid, ¼ cup sugar, egg, vanilla, spices, yeast mixture, and 2 cups of the bread flour. Beat until well combined.
  5. Switch to a dough hook and add remaining flour and salt. Knead by machine for 3 minutes, then drizzle in the butter and knead for an addition minute. Add fruit and mix until combined. (If kneading by hand, add the butter along with the last 2 cups of flour, then move dough to a floured surface and knead 6 minutes, working the fruit in at the end.)
  6. Transfer dough into a large greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow dough to rise until doubled. This may take 1½ hours or more, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
  7. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with a piece of parchment.
  8. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times to distribute the fruit evenly. Form into a ball and place in prepared pan. Cover and let rise until almost doubled.
  9. Heat oven to 375 F. Bake bread for approximately 50 minutes. The top should be dark brown. Turn the bread out onto a cooling rack. The bottom should sound hollow when tapped. (If in doubt, give it a few more minutes in the oven.) Allow the bread to cool completely before cutting.
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Soak the fruit in a liquid of your choice: beer, milk, or tea.

Strain the fruit and press firmly, reserving 1 cup of liquid.

Combine liquid, sugar, egg, vanilla, spices, yeast, and 2 cups flour. Beat well, then add salt and remaining flour. Knead by machine for 3 minutes.

Drizzle in the melted butter, mixing until incorporated.

Mix in the fruit.

Let the dough rise in a greased bowl until doubled.

Place dough in prepared pan to rise.

Ready for the oven.

Turn it out onto a rack and let it cool completely before cutting.

Guinness Bread Braids – Sweet or Savory

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I went all Irish on you with this bread. It has both Guinness Stout beer AND potato in the dough. You won’t even taste the beer, but what a pillowy-soft dough it helped create. I made a savory Celtic braid by adding some Parmesan and garlic to the dough, and turned another batch into a braided cinnamon and sugar ring.

Both were light – surprisingly light – and tender. I will say, however, that this is a bread that is best eaten the day it’s made. On day two it was just a tiny bit chewy, though if it had been heated a little, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. This almost made me wish I hadn’t deep-sixed the microwave. (A pat of butter and a few seconds in a microwave will revive any cinnamon roll . . . or braid.)


Guinness Bread Braids - Sweet and Savory
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Makes two Celtic braids or one braided cinnamon ring.
Ingredients
  • 1¼ cups very warm water
  • 3½ teaspoons sugar, divided
  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • ½ cup Guinness Extra Stout beer
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • ½ cup dry instant potatoes
  • 1 teaspoon salt (3/4 teaspoon if your instant potatoes contain salt)
  • 3½ cups all-purpose flour
  • VARIATIONS:
  • For Celtic Braid: ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, if desired. 1 egg and 1 tablespoon water combined for egg wash.
  • For Cinnamon Ring: 2 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, ⅓ cup sugar, green candied cherries. Icing if desired.
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, combine warm water and ½ teaspoon sugar. Add yeast and allow mixture to sit for at least 5 minutes, or until foamy.
  2. In a small saucepan on low heat, heat the beer and 1 tablespoon butter until beer is lukewarm. (It’s okay if the butter hasn’t melted completely.)
  3. To the yeast mixture, add warm beer mixture, instant potatoes, salt, flour, and 3 teaspoons sugar. (IF MAKING SAVORY BREAD, ADD PARMESAN AND GARLIC.) Mix well. If using a heavy stand mixer, let the mixer knead the dough for 5 minutes. (If kneading by hand, knead on generously floured surface for 7-8 minutes.) Dough will be very soft, slightly sticky, and may stick to the sides of the bowl a little. Cover the bowl with a towel and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
  4. FOR CELTIC BRAID: Cover large baking sheet with parchment. Punch down dough and divide dough into 4 pieces. (If dough is too sticky to work with, knead it a few times on a generously floured surface.) Working with 2 pieces at a time, roll each piece into a rope about 2 feet long. Follow photo instructions in post for making braid (or find a template online). Repeat with remaining 2 pieces. Place braids on prepared baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Cover loosely with towel, and allow to rise until doubled - about 1 hour.
  5. Heat oven to 375 F. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until rich golden brown. Cool on rack.
  6. FOR CINNAMON RING: Prepare two large baking sheets by covering with parchment. (One will be used to coat the bread ropes in butter and cinnamon, and the other will be used to bake the braid.)
  7. Punch down dough and divide into 3 equal pieces. Roll into ropes, each approximately 24 inches long.
  8. Melt butter and pour onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Combine cinnamon and ⅓ cup sugar in a small bowl.
  9. Roll ropes of dough in the melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture, rolling until completely coated.
  10. Pinch the three ropes together at the top. Lift onto clean baking sheet and braid. Tuck the ends under and pinch together where the ends meet.
  11. Cover braid loosely with clean towel and allow it to rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour. Decorate with green candied cherries, if desired.
  12. Heat oven to 375 F. and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Place baking sheet on cooling rack for 5 minutes, then slide braid and parchment onto rack to cool completely.
  13. Drizzle with icing if desired. To make a simple icing, combine ½ cup powdered sugar, 1-2 drops green food coloring, and 1 tablespoon milk or water.
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Dough will be sticky. Don’t add extra flour yet – you can always work in a little more once it’s risen if necessary.

Rises like a champ! Wait ’til you feel this dough – it’s billowy and soft as a baby’s cheek.

Roll dough around in the flour. If it’s really sticky, knead it a few times to add a bit more flour and make it manageable.

Start by crossing the two ropes at the middle, like an “X”.

And then do this . . .

. . . then this.

It should finally look something like this.

Brush the braid with egg wash and bake!

If you’re making the cinnamon ring, it’s a little easier – just a simple braid:

For the cinnamon braid, begin with three long dough ropes.

Roll them in melted butter, then coat them with cinnamon and sugar.

Braid the sticky ropes on a clean piece of parchment. Tuck the ends under and pinch together to make a ring.

Risen and ready for the oven.

Warm and fragrant.

Oh, and if you want to go with the whole green thing, drizzle this puppy with some green icing. 

Serving it was kind of interesting. You can cut it in slices (the least messy option) or you can do what we did and just rip and tear. Licking your fingers is half the fun – no fork and knife for this gal.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Lorinda