Irish Brown Bread

Irish Brown Soda Bread is right up there as one of my favorite breads. It's perfect for soups and stews, makes great garlic bread, and is lovely for breakfast simply smothered in strawberry jam. 

This is not my recipe, but rather a recipe that belongs to Emmets family. They were kind enough to give me permission to share their recipe with you. 

I just love making bread. It's so easy to prepare and I find the kneading process so relaxing. This Irish Brown bread is fantastic. We make this every few weeks - especially if we have a soup or stew planned for dinner!

This bread uses minimal ingredients and no yeast, making it a quick and easy recipe.

The texture of the bread is exactly what you would except from something you picked up from the bakery. This great texture owes to the use of buttermilk, which I adore in baking. The balance between the wholemeal and white flours is spot on. 

Of course an entire loaf is a bit too big for the two of us to get through so lucky I have found that it freezes absolutely wonderfully. I freeze it in quarters and grab out a quarter whenever we feel like some. Once it's thawed you would have no idea that it wasn't a fresh baked loaf. 

Irish Brown Bread

Makes 1 loaf

2 Cups Wholemeal flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Cup plain white flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 Cups buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 170ºC (340ºF) Put the baking soda in the palm of your hand and press out the lumps with your fingers. Sieve the plain flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Add the wholemeal flour (without sieving!).

2. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk. Mix with a wooden spoon to form a loose dough. Add more buttermilk if necessary.

3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until the bottom side is smooth. Turn smooth side up, flatten out, shape, and cut a cross onto the top with a floured knife.

4. Place on a lightly floured baking tray and bake for about 45 minutes. Set aside to cool.