Guinness Molasses Bread

Banish the thought that this is a bread recipe and embrace it as a dessert much like those cupcakes masquerading as muffins we eat for breakfast. This way you won't make the same mistake I did and put a traitorous note at the top of the recipe that says "very sweet! experiment with less sugar?".

The truth is, it's an absolutely divine combination of bitterness, sweet, and deep molasses-ly flavor that I fell in love with each time I made it and I never did get around to trying to make it more bread and less dessert.

This is a recipe from Simply Recipes that I first discovered in my 20's living in an apartment with my cat. I made it countless times - probably because I could make it from ingredients I had on hand without  special trips to the grocery store - and every time I was helpless against it's chewy sweet-bitter goodness.

I put a loaf together last night since the last time I made it was pre-vetschool, pre-kid, pre-husband, and pre-ultrarunning. Would the recipe hold up to my memories?????

YES.

OMG YES.

The version I've cooked over the years deviates very little from Simply Recipes's version - but here's a few notes of my own.

• I don't own a bread pan anymore so last night I threw it in a #6 cast iron skillet and it was perfectly adequate. 
• I've never used Self-rising flour and I'll take their word that it makes a better loaf. But the appeal of this recipe for me is that as long as I have beer, I can make this with just a few simple ingredients that I already have on hand. The loaf is slightly dense and chewy and perhaps it would be more bread-like with self-rising when it comes out of the oven. This might explain while I like it just fine out of the oven with its caramelized top and moist sweetness of the loaf, for me this bread doesn't REALLY shine until the next morning when you slice and toast it and let your mouth roll over the toasted caramelized bits mixed into the soft body of the loaf. 
• If you do use Self rising flour, Simply Recipes notes it should be fresh (less than 6 months old). 
• Your beer needs to be carbonated and cold. Don't use the flat stuff sitting in your garage. The bread is worth the sacrifice of a drinkable beer, I promise. 
• Simply Recipes warns to not over-combine when mixing everything together, but to combine well enough that there aren't lumps. I'm so afraid of over-combining that while I don't have lumps, the color of loaf isn't uniform after it cooks and I have darker and white splotches in the finished loaf (you can see this in my picture above). I don't feel like it detracts from the taste or texture of the finished loaf, and it's not lumpy. Maybe the next time I make it I'll get brave and whip that loaf into shape (I think this every time and never follow through because why mess with something that works???)

As usually, I'm neither a professional photographer, nor a pro blogger. for really PRETTY pictures of this, you should go to the recipe at Simply :). 

Ingredients

• 3 cups self rising flour OR 3 cups of flour, 3 3/4 tsp baking powder, 3/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar 
• pinch of salt (~1/8 tsp). Consider making it a large pinch...every time I've made the bread I've wondered whether it could be improved by just a touch more salt. 
• 12 ounces of Guinness beer. I usually use extra stout since it's what I can find easily in the stores in this area. I've used other beers and it's turned out just fine, but the flavor is best with Guinness IMO. 
• 1/3 cup mollasses
• Butter for greasing pan (or the olive oil spray worked fine in the cast iron skillet), and more for floating on the top of the loaf after cooking. 

How to git 'er done

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease loaf pan (9x5 inch) or a number 6 cast iron skillet. 

Mix dry ingredients together. 

Slowly pour the beer into the flour mixture. Mix into the dry ingredients, and when about half way done add the molasses. Don't over combine (see note above). ,

Pour into pan, no more than 2/3 full. Cook for 50 min. It's done with a butter knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. 

Let cool 5 min and then paint the top of the loaf with a butter stick. Don't be tempted to skip this step in the name of calories, the amount of flavor it adds is phenomenal, and this is dessert, not a health food. Just make your slice a little thinner and add the butter please!

- Adapted from Simply Recipe