This weekend marks the first weekend of Lent for 2015, and, as I do every year, I gave up any and all sweets. A lot of people do this. But I don’t think that a lot of people have the level of dependency on sweets that I do. I legitimately had withdrawal headaches for two full days Wednesday and Thursday. So this is a big deal for me.Also, like last year, I’ve decided to again do something extra during Lent as well – make a baked good for someone new every week. This week, a friend from college (Hi, Rafi!) was the recipient, as he was nice enough to host another friend and me for the weekend in Philadelphia, where we spent quite a significant portion of our time trapped at my favorite brewery in a snow storm.

Therefore, it seems fitting that I had decided to make this particular recipe for him. I originally had been saving it for St. Patrick’s Day, but decided that it made a good guy-baked-good gift (though really anything makes a good guy-baked-good gift). It is, of course, Stout Bread.

First, add the vinegar to the milk and set it aside while you prepare everything else. When you get back to it, it will be pretty gross that the vinegar makes the milk all lumpy, but don’t worry, that’s supposed to happen. You didn’t accidentally use bad milk without realizing it.

Then, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, 3/4 cup of oats, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, vanilla extract, stout, and milk mixture. I think of most quick breads as a breakfast food, so I used Founder’s Breakfast Stout, but Guinness or any other stout or porter would be just fine. Terrapin, for example, has a chocolate peanut butter porter that would probably be awesome.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon to combine.

Pour batter into a greased or sprayed loaf pan. It will be very liquidy and make you think there is no way it can turn into a bread and that you must have done something wrong, but you haven’t.

Sprinkle the top with the remaining oats. I would press them in a bit, as mine tended to fall right off after baking.

 

Bake at 425°F for 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 400°F and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

The bread will be on the dry side, and is definitely not a particularly sweet bread. I think of it as a bread basket bread, or as something you could microwave and spread with some sweet butter for breakfast. And don’t worry, when you bake with beer the alcohol burns off.

Enjoy!

Stout Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats, divided
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 12 ounces stout beer

Directions:

1. Add the vinegar to the milk and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 3/4 cup oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, vanilla extract, milk mixture, and beer.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
5. Pour batter into a sprayed loaf pan. Sprinkle with remaining oats.
6. Bake at 425°F for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 400°F and bake an additional 20 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.