Irish Brown Bread

star rating (16) rate this recipe »
Recipe photo

Irish Brown Bread

star rating (16) rate this recipe »
Published prior to 2008

A slightly sweet, craggy, "everyday" loaf, with inspiration from customer Fred B. Dugan.

4 cups (13 1/2 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour
2 to 3 tablespoons (7/8 to 1 1/4 ounces) sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) buttermilk
2 tablespoons (7/8 ounce) vegetable oil or melted butter (1 ounce)

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the buttermilk and the oil or butter. Stir together until blended—some lumps will remain. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead about 10 times, or until it all holds together. Form it into a large ball and place it on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cut a deep cross in the top. Bake the bread in a preheated 400°F oven for approximately 40 minutes, or until it tests done (a cake tester inserted into the center will come out clean.) Yield: 1 large round loaf, 10 to 12 inches in diameter.

Reviews

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  • star rating 03/15/2012
  • lynnjga from KAF Community
  • First time to make this...excellent...thin, crust and tender on the inside! I had no whole wheat pastry flour, so, I followed the suggestion of "sarah from new york" and used the ration for whole wheat & white whole wheat flours. I didn't want to wait for supper so I tried a couple of thin slices with orange marmalade:) The earthy bread will balance the strong flavors of the corned beef and cabbage we are having for supper. I am so thankful for KAF recipes having the option of ounces for ingredients...accuracy leads to successful baking results!...and especially the first time making a recipe.
  • star rating 03/12/2012
  • Sarah from California
  • I bought the Irish flour since I love rustic breads and had high hopes. The first attempt had some issues. I prefer to weigh my flour and the 13 ounces listed in the recipe can't be correct. The dough was more like pancake batter. I winged it and added more of the flour to make it something workable. It turned out so crumbly and hard to eat, but the flavor was good. I tried it again this weekend and measured the flour this time with better results but still slightly crumbly. It is still a sticky dough and can be a bit hard to kneed so I might try it in my stand mixer next. I do love the flavor and it's amazing with some butter smeared on it. Just wish it wasn't so crumbly.
    It sounds like you added too much flour to compensate for the sticky dough. This recipe is supposed to yield a stiff batter-like consistency. ~Amy
  • star rating 03/12/2012
  • cynthiamccafferty from KAF Community
  • This recipe was amazing ...it was super easy to put together and will become a "go to" recipe for winter breads. I used it as base for a smoked salmon appetizer ... sliced the bread, spread with goat cheese, broiled and added smoked salmon. It was also great with jam.
  • star rating 02/11/2012
  • sarah from new york
  • Have made this 2x before using about 2/3 whole wheat and 1/3 white wheat flours in place of the whole wheat pastry flour, with excellent results. Today, I used the whole wheat pastry flour (measured by weight) and halved the recipe. This time around, I also had to add a good bit of extra flour to get a knead-able dough because the resulting batter was so wet. It's baking now and looks/smells great, but I'm wondering what might have made the difference this time -- e.g., should the wet/dry proportions be changed to halve this recipe?
    The biggest difference would be the change in flours. Remember, lower protein flours like the pastry flour absorb less liquid than higher protein flours like the regular whole wheat. So, the dough would definitely look different when made with the lower protein flour. It's okay to have the dough a little wetter than a little drier, you'll get a better rise. ~ MJR @ KAF
  • star rating 09/21/2011
  • Linda from PA
  • This recipe is very similar to one that I used to make in batches in a two cup glass measuring cup in my microwave. The only difference was I added raisins. I lost the recipe years ago and just may have found it again! I'll try it and see what happens. It yielded little round loaves of bread perfect for gift giving. I do think however my old recipe had molasses.
  • star rating 04/18/2011
  • mamsmith25 from KAF Community
  • I LOVED this recipe! I made it twice actually. I was just wondering if this could be made in a bread pan instead and how I would adjust the cooking times. It was a little challenging to slice all at once (I was taking it back to school with me and do not have a bread knife there so I had to pre-cut it) and was wanting to make it more loaf-shaped. Thanks!
    This bread should bake fine in a loaf pan, but may take closer to an hour to bake. The internal temperature when baked should be about 190-200 degrees. ~Amy
  • star rating 01/19/2011
  • athistle2u from KAF Community
  • This recipe turned out fabulously for me! Even with my substitutions! Since I don't have a scale, I used only 3 cups of KA White Whole Wheat flour, after reading about at the previous posters experience. I also decided to try one of your new products; so added 1/4 cup of KA Grape Seed flour and used only 2 tablespoons of sugar. I used vegetable oil and kept all the rest the same. The texture had a very even crumb and was nice and moist without being overly dense. No crumbling here! It appeared similar to the loaf pictured but had more of a chocolatey brown color. The flavor is a wonderfully elusive graham crackery taste and totally addictive! It is the best "quick bread" that I've ever made and I suspect that I'll be making it often!
  • star rating 01/14/2011
  • JH from PacNW
  • This is an excellent bread! I made a dairy-free version, using 1 1/4 cup soy milk mixed with 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (let it sit a minute to thicken). I also used a mixture of spelt and whole wheat flour...I recommend using a scale if you're going to change the flour, as 13.5 ounces of flour was only 3 cups for me. This recipe is a keeper--thanks KAF!
    Thank you for sharing your successful modifications with us. ~ Amy @KAF
  • star rating 07/09/2010
  • MM from NY
  • I DID NOT try this recipe yet. I am wondering, what is the difference between whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour. Can regular whole wheat flour be used for this recipe?
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