Because it’s good for you

First you eat it, then you drink it – or is it supposed to be the other way round? In any case, Guinness has moved into bread. Its parent Diageo has licensed an Irish baker to produce a Guinness Whole Grain Bread and a U.S. company to launch a Guinness bread mix.

Is this perchance meant to stem the decline of Guinness’ sales in Ireland?

In the old days, not so long ago, the discerning housewife, oops. houseperson, would dissolve some yeast and sugar in warm water, add a small bottle of Guinness and bake her own Guinness bread. Now she is supposed to either buy it in her supermarket or shop around for the baking mix. How times are changing.

Convenience cannot have been on Diageo’s mind when they decided to sell two Guinness bread licenses. Rather they must have thought: Make Guinness ubiquitous and thus persuade consumers that they should drink a pint of Guinness more often. It has been reported that the sale of Guinness in Ireland has declined 8 percent in the year up to 30 June 2006 compared to the year before. In the same period sales in the UK were also down 3 percent. And these are Guinness’ major markets …

In an effort to popularise the brand the brewer has gone into partnership with Irwin’s bakers in Ireland to produce a Guinness bread. It was reported that the two have been working for the past two years to make the Guinness Whole Grain Bread. Produced at Irwin’s Portadown bakery the bread has an authentic 17 percent real Guinness content — giving it a richly dark appearance and the unmistakable malty taste of the beer – whose alcohol content will have evaporated during the baking process.

Supplies of the bread have already been ordered by shops and supermarkets across Britain and Ireland including Tesco’s.

In January this year U.S. based Celtic Passions announced the introduction of a Guinness bread mix in Ireland and the United States. The product will be available to consumers and retailers starting March 2007. According to a corporate statement the mix is to make a bread which is similar in taste to the bread currently served in the Guinness Storehouse visitor centre, located at the world famous Guinness Brewery at St. James’s Gate, Dublin.

The mix will be offered in two different 14 ounce formats: a collectible tin which will be available in gift and gourmet stores, and a standard style flour bag that will be available in grocery stores. In addition, the product will be offered in 50 pound bags for in-store baking and food service distribution to a selection of hotels, restaurants, pubs and food retailers.

Here’s a Guinness bread recipe for those of our readers who will not get a chance to buy the bread mix in Ireland.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 (6.3 oz) bottle Guinness stout beer

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon margarine or butter

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups all purpose white flour

1 teaspoon powdered ginger

1 tablespoon margarine or butter to brush bread after baking

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water and 1 tablespoon of sugar; set aside for five minutes. Heat stout, honey and margarine until warm. Add stout mix to the dissolved yeast and stir into 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour, ginger and caraway seeds to make a soft dough.

Shape into a ball. Knead on a floured board until smooth for about 3 minutes. Form into a round loaf and with floured knife make a cross through the centre of the bread. Place in a greased 8-inch round cake tin. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. Bake at 375° F for 30 minutes or until done. Remove from pan and brush with 1 tablespoon of butter. Cool on rack.