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Guinness and Treacle Sourdough

June 5, 2013 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

… A recipe for lovely Jane @ The Shady Baker…

After the success of our Dirty Granny loaf, I’ve taken to throwing all sorts of things into my sourdough starter. The latest was half a can of flat Guinness beer (the other half having been added to a beef stew the night before).

The resultant brew was dark and malty…

I added the starter to a high hydration dough made with Tania’s luxurious Buratto flour and threw in a large spoonful of treacle for good measure.

Here’s the formula:

Starter: feed a small portion of ripe sourdough starter with 250g Guinness beer (mine was flat, and  cold from the fridge) and 150g bakers flour. Stir well and cover until ripe and bubbly.

Dough:

  • 300g Guinness-fed starter
  • 650g water
  • 1kg Buratto or bakers flour
  • 30g treacle
  • 19g fine sea salt

This quantity made four small loaves, which I baked for 40 minutes (20mins at 220C with fan and the remainder of the time at 175C with fan).  The crust was firm and the crumb tender.  The flavour improved with resting overnight…

Folks, I bake a lot of bread, so I know this is a big call, but I think this one might be my new favourite. I adore its slightly sweet, malty taste and the chewy but tender crumb. It’s vaguely reminiscent of pumperknickel bread, and the perfect match to Manchego cheese and antipasto…


Definitely the best use for half a can of flat beer!

Edit: Have a look at Clare’s Ginger Beer and Honey loaf

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Posted in Recipes | 47 Comments

47 Responses

  1. on June 5, 2013 at 12:10 am heidiannie

    Thanks for another great recipe, Celia!
    This bread looks so good I can almost taste it! And I think bread is a very good place to use beer/ale!


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:31 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Heidi, my friend Maude just brought over six bottles of flat lager – not sure what to do with them yet! I’ll have to experiment! :)


  2. on June 5, 2013 at 12:15 am Young Wifey

    Guinness and treacle sourdough? Sounds delicious!!!! Now, if only I could get treacle here!


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:32 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      If you can’t get treacle, I reckon molasses would work! :)


  3. on June 5, 2013 at 12:20 am sallybr

    Oh, my…. this bread is calling my name real real REAL loud, and I don’t even like beer.. but enjoy using it in my cooking

    I need to bake some sourdough soon, it’s been a while…

    thanks for the inspiration, once more!


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:33 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Sally, I’ve now made this THREE times in different permutations – today was sandwich loaves and rolls, last time was ciabatta. I adore the flavour! Can’t wait to see your next loaves, you bake the best bread!


  4. on June 5, 2013 at 1:24 am Norma Chang

    That’s one beautiful loaf of bread. I am thinking a ham sandwich with home grown heirloom tomatoes and crunchy lettuce. I am soooo hungry just thinking about it.


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:36 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Norma, thank you! Ham sandwich and some homemade mayo!! And tomatoes and cos lettuce! Darn, now I’m making myself hungry as well! :)


  5. on June 5, 2013 at 2:01 am Anne @GtSlamseysFarm

    Another winner Celia. What do you mean by high hydration dough?


    • on June 5, 2013 at 8:29 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Anne, one with a very wet dough – this dough is about 78% hydration (percentage of flour to water, including the starter ingredients). By comparison, the dough in my original SD tutorial was about 66%, which made handling much easier. x


  6. on June 5, 2013 at 2:21 am Platanos, Mangoes and Me!

    Wishing I could just grab this loaf and devour it. Winner!


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:36 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Thanks Norma! Wish I could share! x


  7. on June 5, 2013 at 8:11 am theintolerantchef

    I was so expecting this loaf to be much darker Celia. Just because of the deep colour from both ingredients I suppose :) I’m glad the deeper, darker bits came out in the deeper, darker flavour instead! It definitely sounds like you’re onto a winner with this one sweetie xox


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:37 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Becca, it surprised me that it wasn’t! But the flavour is gorgeous, and kind of evolves after the first day. Just love it! x


  8. on June 5, 2013 at 8:21 am Jane @ Shady Baker

    Thank you so much for sharing your bread knowledge and experiences with us Celia. We enjoy the occasional stout or guinness in the coolers months so I immediately thought this bread would be a winner when I saw your tweet.

    I am going to try this on the weekend, I might even buy some decent cheese to have with it! x


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:37 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Jane, I hope you like it as much as we did. Even Pete’s come around now, he was a bit hesitant at first, but it’s really grown on him now! :)


  9. on June 5, 2013 at 8:45 am Rose

    So you really can throw all sorts of things at sourdough. Although Tony wants to know why anyone would have half a can of leftover Guinness! :)


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:38 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Tony, no-one drinks the stuff here, they all drink Becks and Peronis! :) I just keep it for cooking! :)


  10. on June 5, 2013 at 9:06 am alison@thisbloominglife

    Wow. The bread looks great but the topping looks even better. I keep trying variations but the hubby just can’t get past his love of ciabatta. Xxx


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:38 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Ali, the love for that ciabatta can take years to even wane a little bit – my fam are still addicted to it! :)


  11. on June 5, 2013 at 11:24 am ChgoJohn

    You truly are The Wonder Baker, Celia. Is there nothing that you’ll toss into your starter and create a wonderful loaf? The only negative in these posts is that you’re on the other side of the World. A little too far for me to pop over for a taste. :(


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:39 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      John, one of these days, you’ll have to come and visit. I will bake you whatever you want when you do. :)


  12. on June 5, 2013 at 11:29 am hotlyspiced

    That looks like such a yummy lunch. So simple but it would work together so well. I like the sound of this bread xx


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:39 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Charlie, I’m sure it’s good for us – it has that wholesome brownness, right? Of course, it’s from beer and treacle, so it’s a bit of a furphy.. ;-)


  13. on June 5, 2013 at 11:56 am Maureen | Orgasmic Chef

    I’m nowhere near tempting fate by adding things into bread. I need to get some starter going. Your bread always calls me. loudly


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:40 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Maureen, I got over that after the first couple of years, when I finally realised that the worse thing that could happen is the loaf could end up with the chooks or the worms.. ;-)


  14. on June 5, 2013 at 2:08 pm Tiffany (@dustt)

    that looooks amazing! :) do you feed your sourdough with anything interesting? (other than flour) i’ve been reading of people using fresh apple and/or sultannas!!!??!! i’ve using prunes to feed kefir.. so perhaps it’s not a huge surprise of using natural sugars for natural yeast.. also which would you suggest is the best way forward (i bake using supermarket yeast currently) starting a sourdough starter from scratch or buying a starter online? thanks!


    • on June 5, 2013 at 10:23 pm Le Petit Potager

      I made my starter using Dan Lepard’s recipe; yoghurt, raisins and apple juice……it started bubbling away with breakneck speed.


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:42 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Tiffany, I bought mine from Northwest Sourdough in the US (I wrote about it here: https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2013/02/11/bread-101-a-basic-sourdough-tutorial/)

      …but my friend Brydie has a link on her blog for starting your own:

      http://cityhippyfarmgirl.com/2011/06/15/how-to-make-a-sourdough-starter/

      Oh, and my friend Joanna at Zeb Bakes has been making kefir starter loaves! They look wonderful:

      http://zebbakes.com/2013/05/26/raisin-goats-milk-kefir-bread-no-3/


  15. on June 5, 2013 at 4:45 pm EllaDee

    Mmmm slightly sweet, malty is my favourite flavour in bread :)


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:43 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      ED, this one really is wickedly good. I want to try it with cream cheese and smoked salmon! :)


  16. on June 5, 2013 at 6:33 pm Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

    Ooh have you tried molasses? I made a dense, dark molasses loaf which we both loved and I bet it would be great with your starter! :D


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:43 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Oooh, that sounds divine. I’ll have to get some – all the molasses I have in the pantry are date, grape and other varieties, but no sugarcane! :)


  17. on June 5, 2013 at 10:20 pm Le Petit Potager

    The Guinness drinker is in NZ at the moment, I’ll pop out to the beer fridge and see if he’s left a can or two in there……….sushhhhhhh


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:45 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Elaine, you could use the rest of the bottle to make chocolate Guinness cake – we love it!

      https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2009/11/01/chocolate-guinness-cake/


  18. on June 5, 2013 at 11:05 pm chef mimi

    Beautiful bread!


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:45 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Mimi, thank you! :)


  19. on June 5, 2013 at 11:10 pm Karen

    I think we should call you “the queen of sourdough”. :)


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:46 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      That’s very kind, but not a fitting title, as so many of my fellow bloggers bake much better loaves! But I will gladly be “Queen of throwing all sorts of strange things into sourdough”! :)


  20. on June 6, 2013 at 12:23 am marilynscottwaters

    Dang, that looks tasty! Did you make the antipasto too? Maz


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:46 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      No, but we have a really good source for it. Oh, and I have exciting news to tell you – will send you an email!!


  21. on June 6, 2013 at 4:05 am Juliana

    Beautiful loaf of bread Celia…I yet have to try to bake sourdough bread. Thanks fort his great post and hope you are having a lovely week :)


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:48 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Juliana, thank you! Hope you’re having a great week too – we have a long weekend coming up! :)


  22. on June 6, 2013 at 8:46 am teawithhazel

    great use of left over guinness celia!


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:48 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      Thanks Jane – it was so much nicer than tipping it down the sink! :)


  23. on June 6, 2013 at 1:07 pm cityhippyfarmgirl

    Celia that is indeed a big call! Isn’t it wonderful though when you make a bread and realise this is now your top favourite. Sourdough…I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…it really is the bees knees.


    • on June 6, 2013 at 4:49 pm Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

      See, Brydie, I KNEW you’d understand what a big call that was. But I haven’t eaten anything else in the last week – I’ve just been happily nibbling my way through the loaves! :)



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