Jesus fed the five thousand with only two loaves of it. Nelson Mandela proclaimed that there should be bread for all. White, brown, baguette or bloomer, whichever you choose, bread is an important part of our daily lives.

However extravagant bread combinations have become, it’s still disappointingly unusual for beer to be part of the process. So when we heard that artisan bakery, The Manna House in Edinburgh’s Easter Road, was making a sourdough loaf using local Innis & Gunn rum finish beer, we had no choice but to get up at an ungodly hour on a Saturday morning to investigate further.

The brainchild of bakery owner and master of his trade Drew Massey, his ‘beer bread’ has got the city’s tipplers and gourmands excited. “People actively seek the loaf out,” says Drew. “From start to finish, making the Innis & Gunn sourdough loaf takes around 18 hours, so it’s a labour of love.”

For the baking savvy out there, you will know that a sourdough involves a starter of flour and water. In this case, water is replaced with Edinburgh-brewed Innis and Gunn Rum Cask, a deep red beer aged in oak rum barrels. The starter is then continually fed with beer until it is ready to be turned into a loaf.

Watching this 18-hour process come to fruition is quite an experience. With steam bellowing from the oven, the smell of fresh bread was intoxicating as the first batch rose. “We knew it was going to be popular, because the flavour is strong,” explains Drew. “We only make it on a Saturday, and it sells out pretty early, because it’s unique. Supermarkets can’t replicate such organic flavours, and our customers appreciate that.”

The beer loaf isn’t the only Manna House variety that breaks with convention. The latest addition, a roasted hazelnut and sultana loaf has been a hit, and their dark chocolate bread looks utterly irresistible.

“Supermarkets can’t replicate such organic flavours, and our customers appreciate that”

“I have a great team working with me and I encourage them to experiment. They can do whatever they like and if it works I’ll happily add to our bread selection. At the moment we’re experimenting with a wholemeal spinach sourdough, which has the potential to be truly delicious,” Drew says.

Our quest was boozy bread, but The Manna House offers much more. With delectable confectionary, authentic French patisserie and a new salad bar, the bakery has attracted a strong following.

The bread itself had the unmistakable crust that only a sourdough can have – robust and with a deliciously sour tang. And as for the crumb? It would be hard to deny that it had been made with anything other than Innis & Gunn. So what did we do with our loaves? A base for steak sandwiches and an accompaniment for French onion soup proved to be the perfect lunch following an early rise.