Guinness Buckwheat Bread #Breadbakers

Today, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, the #Breadbakers are baking “Irish Breads”. I created this Guinness Buckwheat Bread with an entire bottle of Guinness Stout in the dough. The stout flavors and aerates the bread and the buckwheat flour lends great flavor and color to the loaf.

When I saw the theme for this month’s #Breadbakers event of course I thought about doing a version of Ireland’s best known bread, soda bread. But I’ve already posted recipes for 3 types of soda bread; Raisin Soda Bread, Irish Brown Bread and Oatmeal Soda Bread with Apricots.  Please check them out. They’re really great recipes and I make them every year. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing I’d rather have with my corned beef & cabbage than a slice of Brown Bread with mustard. I just happened to be in the mood to make a yeast bread for today’s event.

Because I was very busy testing St. Patrick’s day recipes I had a six pack of Guinness in the refrigerator. I’d already used a few bottles making Guinness Chocolate Fudge Cake and Triple Guinness Bundt Cake. Putting a bottle of Guinness into the dough makes perfect sense for a so-called “Irish Bread”.

I love breads made with beer. Beer & bread are natural partners. They’re both, essentially, a grain base mixed with yeast which is left to ferment until CO2 bubbles are formed. The bubbles give beer their carbonation and cause bread to rise. As a matter of fact, the sourdough starter I used to make this bread was originally made from mash which was left over from my son’s beer making. So this bread has brought that sourdough starter full-circle. (If you don’t have a sourdough starter follow the alternate instructions)

As for the “Buckwheat” part of this bread, well, I’d just bought a bag of buckwheat flour specifically to do some recipe testing. This was the perfect opportunity to play around with the buckwheat flour. I figured the buckwheat flavor would compliment the dark stout, which it does. By the way, buckwheat isn’t a wheat at all, it’s the seed of a plant which is related to rhubarb and sorrel. You can read all about it on Wikipedia if you’re interested.

I love the deep color and flavor of this bread. The sourdough starter, Guinness and buckwheat come together for a flavorful, chewy and savory loaf. This is a really great sandwich bread and it keeps for days.

Click through the slider to see how to make Guinness Buckwheat Bread:

The sourdough starter gives the bread a nice chewy crumb.

Serves 16

Guinness Buckwheat Bread

12 hrPrep Time

40 minCook Time

12 hr, 40 Total Time

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Ingredients

Make the Dough
• 1/2 cup (4 oz, 100g) active sourdough starter (see note 1 if you don't have a starter)
• 1 bottle Guinness (11.2 oz bottle), room temperature
• 3/4 cup (4 oz, 120g) buckwheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 3 1/2 cups, approx. (16 oz, 455g) unbleached bread flour

Instructions

• Combine the sourdough starter and Guinness in the mixing bowl.
• Add the buckwheat flour, salt and honey and mix to combine.
• Add 2 1/2 cups of the bread flour and mix to form a thick batter.
• Cover and let it rest for 20 minutes to absorb the flour and let the gluten develop.
• Switch to the dough hook and add the remaining bread flour
• Knead until the dough gathers on the hook and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Use a little more flour if the dough is still very sticky. But this is a fairly soft dough.
• Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead into a smooth ball.
• Place the dough into an oiled bowl, turning once to cover the dough.
• Cover the bowl and set aside in a warm spot for 1 hour.
• With the dough still in the bowl, fold the top quarter of the dough over onto the middle of the dough. Continue folding the other three sides of the dough.
• Flip the dough over, cover the bowl and set aside for an 1.5-2 hours.
• Fold the four sides of the dough again.
• Flip the dough over, cover the bowl and set in the refrigerator overnight.
• Remove the bowl from the refrigerator first thing in the morning.
• Set in a warm place until the dough comes to room temperature (see note 2)
• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
• Without kneading out all the air, gently fold the dough and shape into 1 large round loaf or two smaller loaves.
• Place the loaves on a wooden peel dusted with cornmeal or onto a parchment lined sheet pan.
• Cover with a damp kitchen towel and rise until almost doubled, about 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F, place a baking stone and a small pan with rocks in the oven if you have one.
• Brush the loaf with water and use a sharp knife or razor to make several slashes across the top of the loaf. Top with seeds if you like.
• Bake until the middle of the loaf is 190°F or the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, about 40 minutes for a large loaf.

Notes

1. If you don't have a sourdough starter combine 1/4 cup all purpose flour flour, 1/4 cup water, 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour and 2 teaspoon dry yeast. Set aside for 1/2 hour then continue with the recipe. Your rising times will be faster if you use yeast. 2. When my kitchen is very cool I'll place the bowl of bread dough over a bowl of warm water (not touching the water) to help warm up the dough.

7.6.8

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https://www.baking-sense.com/2017/03/14/guinness-buckwheat-bread/

Check out these other fabulous recipes by the #Breadbakers:

• Apple, Beer, and Cheddar Soda Bread by A Baker’s House
• Blaa by Sara’s Tasty Buds
• Caraway Rye Soda Bread by A Salad For All Seasons
• Carrot and Dillisk Bread by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Cheddar and Herbs Soda Bread by Ambrosia
• Cranberry and Poppy Seed Irish Bread by kidsandchic
• Currant Drop Scones by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Four Leaf Clover Rolls by Cook’s Hideout
• Guinness Bread Rolls by The Bread She Bakes
• Guinness Buckwheat Bread by Baking Sense
• Irish Amber Ale Pretzels by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Irish Barmbrack by The Schizo Chef
• Irish Freckle Bread by Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Irish Freckle Bread by Passion Kneaded
• Irish Multigrain Bread by What Smells So Good?
• Irish Raisin Tea Scones by Gayathri’s Cook Spot
• Irish Soda Bread by Herbivore Cucina
• Irish Soda Bread by Sneha’s Recipe
• Irish Soda Bread Scones by Spill the Spices
• Irish Soda Buttermilk Bread by Sizzling Tastebuds
• Oat and Potato Bread by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Potato Clover Leaf Rolls by Spiceroots
• Soda Bread Farls by Food Lust People Love
• Soft Wheat Irish Soda Scones with Raisins (Spotted Dog) by The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Super Easy Potato Roll Recipe by Hostess At Heart

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

You might also like:

Beer Mash Starter baguette

Triple Guinness Bundt Cake

Guinness Chocolate Fudge Cake

Irish Brown Bread

Irish Soda Bread with raisins

Oatmeal Soda Bread with Apricots