Irish Brown Bread Recipe

This rich and hearty Irish Brown bread calls for fresh butter or a winter stew for dipping. Delicious alongside a hot bowl of soup, or as an afternoon snack topped with clover honey, jam, or marmalade.

Is there any better smell than fresh baked bread? That’s exactly what I’m going for with this Dark Irish soda bread. It looks like it came straight from a bakery, and tastes like good, fresh bread is supposed to taste.

If you have never had Irish Brown Bread, this is a must try! This is the most authentic and best tasting dark Irish brown bread with oats recipe out there. It’s sooo good!

So what makes this bread so special? Well, if you haven’t tried it before, it’s nothing like any other bread you’ve tasted. It’s mild, slightly sweet and oh-so moist and tender.

The secret ingredient? Guinness.

Guinness is a dark & dreamy Irish stout style beer. Gasp! This recipe has beer in it!? – It sure does. And that’s what makes it so good!

INGREDIENTS – WHAT YOU NEED

This Irish brown bread is made from wheat flour, oats, brown sugar, and sea salt. Instead of yeast, the dough rises with baking soda and baking powder, and is richly flavored with Guinness beer, melted butter, buttermilk, and vanilla extract. 

HOW TO MAKE IRISH BROWN BREAD

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees (F).

Grease a Dutch oven or a round 2-quart oven-safe bowl. You can use cooking spray or butter.

In a large bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt using a whisk.

In another bowl, combine wet ingredients including melted butter, vanilla, buttermilk and Guinness beer. Whisk together to combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until you get a well-blended batter. This will not look like a typical bread dough, but more of a batter.

Pour batter into greased baking dish or Dutch oven. Sprinkle with additional oats.

Bake at 425 degrees (F) for 30 minutes.  Then reduce the heat to 400 and bake another 30 minutes.  Lastly, turn the oven off, crack the oven door open, and keep the Irish brown bread inside to cool for 30 minutes (If using a Dutch oven, take the entire Dutch oven out, set it on a heat-safe surface, and remove the lid so the bread can cool. Remove and enjoy!

VIDEO OF ME MAKING THIS IRISH BROWN BREAD RECIPE

CAN THIS RECIPE BE MADE WITHOUT BEER?

As the name suggests, Guinness Stout gives this bread its signature flavor profile. To make the recipe without alcohol, you could try a non-alcoholic stout instead. Full-disclosure: Even non-alcoholic beers contain about a half of a percent of alcohol. It’s a very tiny amount, but it’s still there.

That being said, a few folks have commented that they have used Ginger Ale as a substitute for the stout style beer and said this Irish soda bread recipe was delicious with it!

CAN YOU FREEZE IRISH BREAD? 

Freezing your Irish brown bread recipe is the best way to store it longer than 3-4 days. Wrap your room-temperature bread in plastic wrap, then seal tight in a freezer bag –> here are some of my favorite reusable freezer bags.

Depending on your family’s bread consumption, you may want to slice or cut the bread before freezing. This lets you grab the quantity you need as you go. My gang can power through a loaf in 2 days, so I simply freeze the entire loaf. Freeze for up to 4 months. 

PRO TIPS

Dutch Oven Cooking. If you use a Dutch oven to make this Guinness bread, cook with the lid on. I use a 6-quart Dutch oven, which gives me a nice, wide “disc” of bread that plates very well and invites sharing. Cooking in a narrower dish creates a taller loaf and thicker slices – but tastes equally delicious!

Serving. Traditionally this bread is served alongside stews and chowders, or just slathered with butter and honey. However we love to serve it along side our favorite Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe on St. Patrick’s day every year.

Storing Bread. For short-term storage (less than a week) keep bread at room temperature in a loosely sealed paper bag or a bread box. 

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU MAKE FOR ST. PATRICK’S DAY?

• Prepare this delicious Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage.
• Slow-cook this tender Crock Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage.  
• Bake these cool and delicious Crème de Menthe Brownies.
• Blend these fresh and fun Green Smoothies.
• Make this savory Homemade Corned Beef Hash.

If you make this Irish Black Bread, I would love to see it! Snap a picture of it and share it with me on Instagram, using the hashtag #happymoneysaver and tagging me @happymoneysaver.

This recipe was first posted February 19th, 2020 but has been updated with better detailed instructions & tips in March 10th, 2021.