In our home there is almost always a loaf of scratch-made bread in the bread box.
It’s not the fancy white loaf that’s taken hours to make and been left to rise in a warm spot. No. Our bread is the rich, traditional Irish kind that can be whipped up quickly, in one bowl, and takes about an hour to bake. It’s the one that’s always served alongside those delicious wholesome vegetable-based soups found in cafes and pubs around the country and the very same one my lovely mother-in-law would give her twelve children nearly every day for tea time (dinner), before the main course.
I go back and forth baking Soda bread , Brown bread {the recipe below), and a Multiseed brown bread {promise to post soon}. Initially, I only made soda bread because that’s what my mother-in-law taught me to make. Then I added the other two breads because of the extra ingredients {oat groats, bran, and wheat germ in today’s Brown bread and oat groats, bran, wheat germ, sesame, poppy, pumpkin and sunflower seeds in the Multiseed bread} which help to make it even more healthy. Now, it’s a weekly toss up as to what’s in the bread box.
Whichever you try, rest assured your home will smell glorious for the effort. When you take the loaf from the oven, you and your family will want a slice while it’s still hot. And when slathered in butter, and maybe even some homemade jam, you’ll enjoy the nutty flavour, crumbly texture that is only found in traditional Irish bread. Enjoy!
Irish Brown Bread
Makes One Loaf
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups/200g/6oz self-raising flour
2 1/4 cups/300g/11oz coarse brown flour
1/3 cup/2 handfuls bran
1/4 cup/1 handful wheat germ
1/4 cup/2oz oat groats, pan toasted
2 heaped teaspoons baking powder
1 level teaspoon salt
2-3 cups/600-900ml/1-1 1/2 pints buttermilk
Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 240°C/450°F/gas mark 9. Lightly oil a loaf tin on bottom and all sides and line with a sheet of parchment paper.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Add enough of the buttermilk to give a moist but not sloppy mixture.
4. Place in a loaf tin and bake for twenty minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 150C/300F/gas mark 2 and bake for an additional hour.
5. Ease bread from loaf tin. Carefully turn it over and tap to see if it sounds hollow. A hollow sound means the bread is fully cooked. If not, return it to the oven for another 10-15 minutes. Do not put it back into the loaf tin, just put it right-side up, directly on the shelf in the oven.
Related articles
- Walnut and Honey Soda Bread (simpleprovisions.com.au)
- Wholesome Irish soda bread recipe especially for St. Patrick’s Day (irishcentral.com)
- New England Brown Bread (thebittenword.com)
- The Soda Bread Experiment (whirlwindcrossroads.wordpress.com)
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Hi Kim, I’ve just returned from 12 days in beautiful Ireland, and while researching recipes, I came across your lovely blog. Thanks so much for posting the granola recipe and the soup and bread recipes. You mentioned in your 02/03/13 post that you would be posting a recipe soon for the Multiseed Brown Bread. I’ve not been able to find it. Did that ever happen. I would love to make that as I’m having withdrawal symptoms now, having been home a full 24 hours!I do hope you’re still blogging.
Hey Jackie! Holy Cow…I totally did not do that. Let me whip up a loaf and get it posted asap!! Thanks for the reminder. And, thanks for your patience. I took some time off from blogging to spend with my family…but I’m getting back into the swing of it again now. Stay tuned!
Sounds like you’ve had a busy few months with lots of fun and oodles of emotions! And now you’ve set my taste buds to drooling again! Can’t wait for the Multiseed Brown Bread recipe! Yum. It’s becoming soup making time here, finally.
While you’re busy promoting Ireland and the U.S. in your blog, I’m busy working on paintings from photos we took in Ireland. The grass is always greener….
Thanks for the note, Kim. I’ll look forward to your making that next batch of bread for your family.
Jackie…you asked for it…and today I’m finally posting it…a recipe for Irish Multi-Seed Brown Bread!! Woot, woot!! My recipe is based on the delicious bread served and sold at Avoca Handweavers. I don’t know if you made it to Avoca when you were in Ireland? If not, put it on your list of things to do on your next visit; Avoca is, hands down, one of my favourite Irish shops. And you are so right, this time of year soup recipes are calling. This brown bread recipe is the perfect side to homemade soup. If you haven’t had a chance yet, please try some of my soup recipes too. Like all my recipes, they are family tested and approved! Jackie…thanks for reminding me to publish this recipe. Hope all is well with you. Kim