GUINNESS CHOCOLATE CHERRY BREAD & GUINNESS BROWN BREAD

St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner, so I thought I'd start posting some special St Patrick's Day Chocolate Recipes. Today's post is about bread! If you want to make your own Irish Soda Bread, try this recipe. But if you want to try something new, try one of these dark breads.

The first recipe is for Stout Chocolate Cherry Bread, a yeast bread. Because it has several rises, you'll want to get started early. Maybe you'll serve it for St. Patrick's Day breakfast?

Following that recipe, I move into classic Irish Brown Breads. You can use a Guinness Bread Mix or make your own from scratch. With the Brown Bread Guinness Mix, you usually would add raisins, but I think it works well with chopped dark chocolate (or dark chocolate chips). You add treacle (yes, you can substitute molasses, but you can find treacle online or at specialty food stores).

The Guinness Brown Bread from scratch recipe doesn't use chocolate chips, and I would spread Nutella on the bread to keep with the theme of this chocolate blog. Your choice. It's a lovely brown bread.

GUINNESS CHOCOLATE CHERRY BREAD

This recipe first appeared in Cooking Light in January 2003. Thanks to the Internet, it's still available to all. I've made it a few times, and it's really delicious. The Guinness adds a special flavor. Chocolate and dried cherries are staples here at my house!

Ingredients
4 1/4 cups bread flour, divided
1 (12-ounce) bottle Guinness Stout
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Cooking spray
1 tsp water
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Directions
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with knife. Combine 2 cups flour, beer, and yeast in large bowl, stirring with whisk. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
Remove mixture from refrigerator; let stand 1 hour.
Add 2 cups flour, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, and salt; stir until soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky). Knead in cherries and chocolate.
Place dough in large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise inwarm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Shape dough into 9-inch round; place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly coat dough with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Uncover dough. Combine water and egg white, stirring with whisk, and brush over dough.  Make 1/4-inch-deep cut down center of dough using sharp knife.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bread is browned on bottom and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack.

GUINNESS BROWN BREAD MIX 

Thanks to The Nibble, I was alerted to Guinness Bread Mix. You have to add a few delicious ingredients, but it's worth it. As I mentioned above, I add chopped chocolate instead of raisins, but that's up to you. Since I add chocolate chunks to the bread, I suggest serving it with mascapone or goat cheese or plain. This mix is available in specialty food stores and online. There are 3 packets in each Bag so it's good value. The ingredients in the mix include Whole Meal Flour, Plain Flour, Oatmeal, Baking Soda, Brown Sugar and Salt. You need to add Butter, Black Treacle (or dark molasses), Chopped Dark Chocolate (instead of raisins), milk, and a 1/2 cup of Guinness.

No time to get the mix? Try this recipe from Jump into Ireland (Discover Ireland) for Guinness Brown Bread. It's not as sweet as the recipe above, so instead of adding chocolate chips or chunks, serve it with a Hazelnut (Nutella) spread.. just to keep it in the chocolate family! I've changed a few thingss in the recipe, but I know you'll like it.

GUINNESS BROWN BREAD from Scratch

Ingredients
4.5 cups Bread Flour
1.1 cups Steel Cut Oats
Pinch of salt
Pinch of sugar
3.5 ounces sweet butter
34 ounces buttermilk
12.3 ounces treacle (dark molasses as a substitute)
5 ounces Guinness Stout
1 level tsp of baking soda

Directions
Combine all of dry ingredients in large bowl and mix together well and set aside.
Melt butter in small saucepan, add buttermilk and heat until tepid.
Add treacle to saucepan and stir slowly until well combined through buttermilk.
Remove pot from the heat.
Add Guinness and stir.
Make well in middle of  dry ingredients, add liquid and stir gently to make moist paste.
Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare baking pan by brushing inside with butter and dusting with flour.
Pour mixture into pan and place in preheated oven for ten minutes, then reduce heat to 275°F and bake for 40 more minutes.
After removing bread from oven, allow to cool on rack for 10 minutes.
Serve with Nutella.