This one is going to be short and sweet (unlike a leprechaun) because, I’m ashamed to admit it, my knowledge of the history of St. Patrick’s Day is rather limited. Blame it on my Ukrainian roots and upbringing, or my general ignorance about Irish history but I have always mistakenly believed that St. Patrick was credited with driving snakes out of Ireland.
Thankfully, my son-in-law, who is Irish, recently informed me that this is not the case. And so, because I love history and learning about different cultures and religions, I decided to educate myself about this holiday. As it turns out, St. Patrick was actually credited with bringing Catholism to Ireland and because he died on March 17th, that has become, you guessed it, St. Patrick’s day. And so, to honor him, people dress up in green, eat corn beef and cabbage and drink a lot of beer. Although, I’m not quite sure what all that has to do with with religion (or snakes). Obviously more research is required on my end. Preferably on the ground…in Ireland…in a castle…with a moat…ooh, and a ghost. Let me know if you own an Irish castle and have room to accommodate us. My husband and I make delightful travel companions.
Since I was studying up on Irish culture, I decided that the best place for me to start was also in my favorite place, the kitchen. So I tried my hand at baking Guinness bread.
I should preface this by saying that I have never had a Guinness in my life. In fact, I have never acquired a taste for beer of any kind despite my daughter’s valiant efforts to expose me to different micro-breweries and introduce me to creatively flavored beers like cherry and lemon-lime. All interesting, but none were my cup of tea.
However, a trip to the liquor store led to an encounter with a beer enthusiast who told me more about Guinness than I would probably ever remember, including the fact that it’s been vegan since 2018, and has underlying notes of coffee and chocolate. This got me thinking about honey and oranges and dreaming about a great compound butter that I could whip up to plop on top of the warm bread.
Needless to say, I had to make the bread a soon as possible and, although I can’t tell you if this is close to the real thing (again, a trip to Ireland is definitely required), I can attest to the fact that it was fabulous. There were no complaints from the rest of the Ukrainians in my household. Especially, when shmeared with some orange-honey butter to complement the aforementioned notes of coffee and chocolate (wink).
The Dishy Details
I started with a recipe from Allrecipes and read the reviews, many of which suggested the addition of raisins. I did that, because why not? I also loved the fact that whole wheat flour and oats were used, which upped the healthy factor a bit. I then substituted kefir for the buttermilk in the original recipe. Those of you who’ve made my Zucchini Pancakes With Whipped Maple Ricotta know how much I love kefir for it’s nutritional values.
What smelled delicious going into the oven and throughout the entire 30 minutes of baking at 425 degrees, followed by another 30 minutes of baking at 400 degrees, followed by another 30 minutes in the oven that has been turned off with the door opened, translated into a burnt mess that refused to come out of the pan. Not sure if I did something wrong or if my oven temperature was off, but regardless, the entire thing went straight in the trash.
I then tried it again. This time, I substituted a loaf pan for an a 8 x 8 pan that was specified in the original recipe thinking that a taller bread wouldn’t burn as quickly. I also lined the pan with parchment paper (in addition to greasing it). And lastly, I adjusted the oven temperature and cooking time.
The result was a seriously delicious bread that reminded me more of cake. Moist and tender on the inside, with a slightly crispy top, this is perfection. And, although I have never acquired a taste for beer, the flavor was amazing.
Then, I mixed a bit of butter with some orange zest, honey and salt and, voila, orange-honey butter was ready. This only took a couple of minutes to throw together, but when combined with this bread, really took it to the next level.
I hope that you decide to give this Guiness Bread With Orange-Honey Butter recipe a whirl. If you do, please let me know what you think, or tag me on Instagram. I always love to hear from everyone and to see photos of any recipes that you make. And above all, thanks so much for stopping by.
Guinness Bread With Orange-Honey Butter
Ingredients
Bread:
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 4 tbs unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup kefir (you can substitute buttermilk if you prefer)
- 1 (11-12 oz) bottle of Guinness
- ½ cup golden raisins
Orange-Honey Butter:
- 8 tbs unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 tbs honey
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- zest of one orange
Instructions
Bread:
- Preheat oven to 425 °F. Grease a 9 x 5 x 2½ inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the butter, vanilla extract, kefir and beer.
- Gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just long enough to combine. Add the the raisins and stir to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the top with additional oats.
- Place the bread in the oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 400 °F. Bake for about 40-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the bread to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes then turn it onto a baking rack and allow to cool.
Orange-Honey Butter:
- In a small bowl, mix together the butter, honey, orange zest and salt until well combined. I did this by hand but an electric mixer would work as well.
- Remove to a bowl, cover and refrigerate. Allow to come to room temperature prior to serving.