Guinness Bread with Molasses

So after using 1/2 a cup of Guinness to make the Irish Car Bomb cupcakes I had most of a can left.  I was home alone with the kids and I don't drink Guinness.  I hated to waste the beer so I quick googled a search for Guinness recipes.  I didn't want another dessert and knew that this was the recipe to make as soon as I saw it. I didn't have self-rising flour so I used the substitution given and thought it came out fine.  I was bringing this to my parent's house for our corned beef and cabbage dinner.  I was dying to taste a little piece since I would hate if it turned out bad.  But I controlled myself.  My mom always makes traditional Irish Soda Bread.  We cut this up and served it with the meal, alongside the Irish Soda Bread.  The  molasses gave it a sweet taste while the Guinness gave it a stouty, beer flavor. We gave little bites to the kids to try, and they liked it (but they like all bread, really!), but I thought it was a little too beery tasting for them to eat a lot of.  It was nice and moist, and slathered with butter it was tasty.  It was something different to try and a way to use up the Guinness.  However, it can never replace the traditional Irish Soda Bread!

Guinness Bread with Molasses
from Simply Recipes Posted by Hank Shaw

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes

This is fantastic eaten fresh, and nearly as good the next day toasted with some more butter. Do not use stale beer for this recipe, you want the carbonation.

Ingredients:
3 cups self-rising flour*
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup molasses
A pinch of salt (roughly 1/8 teaspoon)
12 ounces of Guinness beer
Butter for greasing the pan and painting the top, about 3 tablespoons

* If you don't have self-rising flour, you can substitute using a ratio of 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, plus 1/8 teaspoon of salt, for every cup of self-rising flour. Have made both ways though and got better results from the self-rising flour.

Method:
1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan well with butter.

2.  Pour the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl and whisk to combine.

3. Slowly pour the Guinness into the flour mixture. (The “pub cans” are larger than 12 ounces, but they have better carbonation, so I pour most of it out and leave a swig to drink. This has never failed me, but if you are a stickler, use a 12-ounce bottle of Guinness instead.) Start stirring the beer into the dry ingredients, and when you are about halfway done, add the molasses. Mix well, just to combine. Don’t work the heck out of the batter – because that’s what it’ll look like – but you don’t want lumps, either.

4. Pour into the loaf pan to no more than 2/3 full. Pop into the oven immediately and bake for 50 minutes. Since ovens can vary, check the bread after 40 minutes and see if a toothpick inserted into the deepest part of the loaf comes out clean. If it does, you’re done.

5.  Let the loaf cool a bit, maybe 5 minutes, and then turn it out onto a rack. Paint it with lots of soft butter, which will melt as you go.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.