Search our products, recipes, blog posts, and more. Put in greased loaf tin or dish and bake at 180 Celsius till a skewer inserted comes out dry (could be up to an hour), Bernadette, you are so generous to share this with me - thank you! You're very welcome, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Coarsely ground from red whole wheat, this soft flour is our version of the whole grain flours used to bake traditional Irish breads. I didnt make or test it with active dry yeast so I cant say how much but according to the notes before the recipe, they say Dried yeast may be used instead of bakers (fresh) yeast. Would allow for a nice crust I think. is about 340 ml. Always put a clean damp tea towel around the bread when it comes out of the oven and let it cool. I would like to try and recreate as best as I can the delicious brown bread I enjoyed baked by many an innkeeper and B&B owner during my visit to Ireland. Everytime my American wife and I go home to Ireland, the first thing we do, once we get to my home town is head straight for my local, the bridge bar for seafood chowder, brown bread and a pint of Guinness. P.S. Oh my gosh, I would love that! Im a big bread eater, and never shy away from a bread plate no matter where I am, and have never had such good soda breads as Ive had in Ireland. (I have a Polish background). Have a floured surface ready to quickly knead the dough, and a bench scraper if you have one. Hi Patricia, Odlums Coarse is the flour I use. Oh dear you said 1/2 in your directions. Thanks so much for this information. We never found raisins in Irish brown bread, but we did discover that each home cook had their own favorite add-ins, like oats, wheat germ, seeds, and nuts. I just received the Irish style ground flour from King Arthur flour company yesterday. Also because the flour is stoneground, Roberttold me, it gets a slightly roasted flavor from being heated up a bit during the milling process, which gives it that unique flavor. He also added, proudly And of course its local Irish wheat!. I baked this bread yesterday. I've just done one with 1 T. molasses and 1 cup WW to 3 cups white flour. If using an instant-read thermometer, the temperature should read 190F (88C). The recipes I am using and I am baking bread for years now are using not more than 2-3 g of yeast. I was lucky enough to visit Ballymaloe last month and take a bread-making course in the kitchen with RJ. Hi Heather! Oh well next time! It's sensational. I'm Nancy Mock and I live in beautiful northern Vermont with my family. I emailed my Irish friend, and she said to flatten it to about 2" in height. Once they look blended, mix in the brown sugar. I am going to be participating in a virtual Irish Soda Bread Making Event tomorrow. About 8 minutes to read this article. Where in Ireland are you from? I could never make her bread but now you shared the recipe I can. Quick view #203669. Turn the bread dough onto a lightly floured cutting board. By Nancy Mock February 28, 2022 Updated January 11, 2023 86 Comments. This bread looks fantastic and like it would be easy to make. The Ballymaloe flour is Bakers Wholemeal, which doesnt help much unless you live in Ireland and want to buy it in 25# sacks, but The Little Mill is nowselling it in smaller bags, in the U.S. I hope this helps! Ive just arrived in New Zealand where the standard is not quite the same. I think if you bake in tins the thickness won't allow them to cook all the way through. I had a thing for Irish soda bread for a periodseems like the right wheat will make a huge difference, so will keep an eye out for the Kells mail order option. I hope this helps - let me know how this Brown Bread turns out for you. It looks as if youve finally got a copy editor, or maybe a new one; its so much easier to read than before. Contact Nancy Mock through the About Me page for permissions. Hi Stuart! Its definitely the crunch factor and the healthy hardiness of soda breads that keep us coming back for more. I know there will be some ooops, what was I thinking? Great question about omitting the sugar: I made a test loaf this morning, everything the same except without sugar. It was also offered every morning at our B&B, along with other traditional Irish food like black and white puddings, barmbrack and scones. . Your email address will not be published. This one was the one! Thanks for the suggestion. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk and the oil or butter. 40% of 30g = 12g, Therefore 2 1/2 teaspoons. But the first time we saw it listed on a menu, we weren't sure what that wasjust a kind of wheat bread? In most situations, an undercooked loaf of bread can be fixed by returning it to the oven for a few more minutes. Eating it takes me back to our time in Ireland, too. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease 8 inch round cake pan. Did I do something wrong or is this normal? Coat an 8- or 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Irish butter cookiesare favorite melt in your mouth shortbread cookie recipe that does call for Irish butter, no substitutes. Hopefully that will do the trick and I can keep on making it like that! I guess Ill try again tomorrow. Stir together until blended some lumps will remain. If you look at my recipe card, there is a tab for "Metric" - click on this and all of the measurements will be converted to grams and milliliters. I loved the way mine came out, almost exactly like their loaves. I don't understand why it won't bake through. The history of this bread is supposed to be that of the poor, so I use my hands to mix it and supposedly its very Irish, or at least thats what Im told. Store it in the freezer for up to three months, and let it thaw in the wrappings in the fridge. When we traveled to Ireland we had many versions of Brown Bread (including in Clifden!) Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food & Wine, Sweet Lemon (bergamot or Meyer lemon) Marmalade, (see headnote and note after the recipe, for instructions using active dry or instant yeast - I use 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast when not using fresh yeast). Stir together until blended and no dry spots remain; the dough will be soft and sticky. I hope you have the best day ever. Worked perfect, loved the trick of taking the bread out of the pan and cooking upside down! I have noticed that Germany has the widest range of flours available near me, with nearly whole aisles of the grocery store devoted to it! The only difference as youll see later is that my loaves were a bit lighter in color and using standard whole-wheat flour produced a nice loaf, although different from one using Irish flour. Turn out the contents of the bowl onto the floured surfacethe dough will still have some dry flour visible. I recently moved from the UK to Switzerland, and I live super close to the German border so do a lot of grocery shopping there. We had the soda bread with lashings of butter and honey and everyone was addicted. Kelly, I am so happy to read this! With a sharp knife cut a deep cross on top of the ball. Irish Brown Bread is delicious by itself, but even more so slathered with delicious Irish butter, and your favorite jam. This turned out perfectly and was SO easy! I have been searching for the best brown bread recipe since my return. The amount of sugar in this loaf is on the low side at least. I would like to know whether I should use the "coarse" or the "extra-coarse". However it was the best Irish brown bread I have ever eaten. Thank you for posting this and the links. I double this recipe, and half the Suger, and add 2 tbsp of Golden Syrup, and bake twice a week, so wholesome and full of fiber. Hi! Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, wheat bran, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in medium bowl. It is wonderful. At Ballymaloe House, to accompany the Irish breakfast, they serve soda bread, Irish scones (similar to what we call biscuits in the states), and brown yeast bread, to eat alongside. I can taste that bread. Sprinkle yeast over top and let stand until yeast is bubbly, about 5 minutes. Required fields are marked *. Add most of the buttermilk and stir it into the dry mixture. If Im not mistaken, there is a typo in regard to the weight in metrics and the cup equivalents regarding the water. Slainte! Do French people like this sort of bread? I suspect that the bread would be more dense and heavy made this way, but since I haven't tried it with this recipe I can't say for sure. Traditional brown soda isn't sweet. I am so glad you and your family enjoyed the fresh baked Irish brown bread! Bake 15 minutes at 450F, reduce to 400F and bake another 20-25 minutes until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Don't forget to slather the baked slices with butter, Irish butter preferably! Mix in the walnuts. March 9, 2018. Please do write back and tell me how this bread turns out for you. Totally missed the part about flattening it out to about 2", so it was quite a bit thicker but just baked until it had the hollow sound. I'm looking forward to baking Aunt Lizzie's soda bread next. But yes, I think you can reduce the sugar without negatively affecting how the brown bread will turn out. Sign up for my free recipe newsletter to get new recipes in your inbox each week! This post may contain affiliate links. But, I think Ill try again with this recipe. I was transported back to Ireland (if only with my eyes closed). I had to use KAF whole wheat flour which isnt coarse, but it still worked out beautifully. I seemed to have a lot of flour left that wasnt incorporated after adding all of the buttermilk. Pour in the buttermilk mixture. We did have a fun day in Dublin, which I wrote about in another post that includes a recipe for Potato Soup: https://hungryenoughtoeatsix.com/dublin-ireland-and-a-recipe-for-creamy-potato-soup-my-latest-delectable-destination/ It is a very beautiful country, and the people there are lovely. Thank you for trying (and sharing) my recipe - I'm so happy to hear you like it! Thanks. The bread could not have been more perfect! Another idea, although I have never done this, is to make two loaves. And although Ive been told by Irish readers that real brown bread is never made with sugar (and that Americans eat too much of it!) Irish Brown Bread is baked with a cross sliced on the top of the loaf. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thank you for this recipe, it did remind me of the brown bread I ate in Ireland. Jennifer: Yes, that is a great book. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with cooking spray. I ordered the King Arthurs Irish Style Hi Pamela, I completely agree that it would be worth the price of airfare to be back in the land of brown bread! Preheat the oven to 375F. Discovering restaurants, tasting bakery treats, finding inspiration in new flavors and regional specialtiesno wonder Nancy loves being a Taste of Home Community Cook and a food and travel writer.