For home-baked bread speedier than my Speedy No-Knead Artisan Bread, I bake Irish Brown Bread.…
Authentic Irish Brown Bread
Bake Irish Brown Bread for home-baked bread speedier than my Speedy No-Knead Artisan Bread. This quick bread stirs up in about 5 minutes and goes straight into the oven.
A staple bread in Ireland, Irish Brown differs from soda bread with a distinctive coarse crumb texture and wheaty flavor plus a touch of molasses.
I learned to bake this authentic version while visiting friends at their B&B in Tullamore, Ireland, between Dublin and the Galway coast. Our Irish friend John adds crunchy sunflower, sesame, poppy and pumpkin seeds. It was the best brown bread I tasted in Ireland!
I carefully watched John make the bread and took exact measurements. Then I made adjustments to the temperature and bake time since John baked in an Aga Cooker which doesn’t have exact temperatures, only hotter and cooler oven chambers and he baked the bread in both. I came up with a compromise in my oven, but the key is to bake until well browned so the center is fully cooked.
In Ireland I noticed this bread is commonly baked in the evening for the morning breakfast, as John did, and some of the other B&B’s. On our last night, the B&B proprietor gifted me a bag of Odlums brand whole meal flour which is an extra coarse wheat flour. It was worth lugging home! The coarser flour plus the seeds makes the distinctive brown bread texture. Odlums is available on-line or look for the coarsest brand you can find, such as King Arthur, unless you happen to have a grain mill. See photo below for whole meal vs whole wheat flour comparison. Regular whole wheat flour plus some bran flakes is a good substitute (see recipe note), and I add extra seeds to compensate if using regular whole wheat flour.
Bake a loaf for the luck of the Irish this March 17 and I think you’ll make this bread often! After the second or third day I like to serve it toasted, and it’s always good with butter and my Basic Citrus Marmalade.
Irish Brown Bread
Servings: 1 loaf, 16 slices
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups 200g coarse whole wheat flour (see Test Notes)
- 1-1/2 cups 200g all-purpose flour
- 1-2 tablespoons each sunflower sesame, and poppy seeds, or your choice
- 1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon table salt
- 1-1/4 cups 300g buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons 40g blackstrap or dark molasses
- 1 tablespoon 10g sunflower oil
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup natural or golden raisins optional
- 1-2 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°. Coat a 9x5 or 8x4.5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
- Whisk together the buttermilk, molasses, oil and egg.
- Stir liquids into dry mixture just until batter is evenly moistened. Stir in raisins if desired. Spread evenly in pan. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds. Moisten fingers and flatten top, lightly pressing seeds.
- Bake 30-35 minutes until well browned and pick inserted in center comes out clean. It may be a little longer in some ovens.
Notes
King Arthur brand is coarsest I've found. I also like results with 1-1/4 cups of any brand whole wheat flour plus 1/2 cup wheat bran.
If you don’t have buttermilk, pour 1 tablespoon white vinegar or cider vinegar into a 1-cup liquid measuring cup. Fill to the 1-cup level with whole or 2% milk. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes for milk to clabber or slightly thicken.
NOTE: I was not compensated to mention brands in this post.
I was looking for the ultimate Irish brown bread for St. Patrick’s Day. This is it. It has an amazing coarse texture and terrific wheat flavor. Some bakers might want to add a tablespoon of brown sugar, but if you are serving with marmalade, it is sweet enough. I did not use the raisins, but that would have added a touch of sweetness, too. I put my old KA grain mill into use with soft wheat berries, and it was very much worth the very minimal effort. A very easy recipe, I will be making it often. I’m so glad I found this site, and I will be moving on to wild yeast water next. Thanks, Rosemary!
Thank you Rick! A five star rating from you is an honor. I like how you describe the sweetness, and I need to put my Kitchen Aid grain mill to work for this recipe too. I hadn’t thought of that for making a substitute for the Odlum’s coarse wheat flour.
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe! We couldn’t get enough of the brown bread in Ireland! Rick, do you mind telling me what grind you used for the KA grain mill and would you make any changes to that for the next time you make the recipe? I haven’t done much with the grain mill yet and it would be lovely to get a recommendation of where to start for this recipe. Thanks! (or Go raibh maith agat, as our friends in Ireland would say.)
Hi Cammie – I will forward this to Rick via email and copy you. Thanks for asking that question as I’m curious too!
Cammie, I can’t be sure ecause I didn’t write it down. I just fooled around until I got a kind of coarse sand texture. I looked at where the setting is now, as I doubt that I changed it, and it is at the halfway mark. (KA does not have numberrs on the mill.) While it is a good reason to use my mill, the soft wheat berries are not that easy to source. I found them by accident at a local Itallian deli who was stocking them for a couple of months because they are an important ingredient of pasteria napoletana, an essential Easter dessert for the many Italian Americans in my part of New Jersey. So now I have wheat berries in the freezer for the next tine I want this great brown bread.
May I ask where your Italian deli is located? (I’m in Jersey too) I don’t have a mill but will try adding wheat germ to KA whole wheat flour – thx for the tip!
I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’d love to hear how you like the wheat germ addition.
You could contact Rick directly for his deli location. https://rickrodgers.com
If using actual Odlum’s Whole Meal flour, what recipe changes need to be made to your recipe?
Hi Elizabeth – I apologize for missing your comment. When using Odlum’s Whole Meal flour, no changes are needed. I hope you have a chance to make it. Let me know!
great recipe. i don’t put the seeds or raisins in it as I was never served it that way on our trip to Ireland a few years ago. i suck at baking but am able to crush this recipe. super easy and delicious. thanks for sharing!
I’m so happy to hear you are happy with your version of my Irish Brown Bread! I write for home cooks so it’s great to hear about your success. Enjoy, and thanks for letting me know!
Would there be any changes when baking this bread at high altitude?
Melody – as with other high altitude baking adjustments, you might start by increasing oven temperature 15-25F, and/or reduce the liquid slightly or increase the flour slightly. Sorry those are a lot of variables, but I’d suggest following the recipe and see how it turns out then making adjustments such as baking longer if needed. Please let me know what works for you, as I am not at high altitude to test this. Thank you!
I’ve been invited to a St Patrick’s Day party and am taking your Irish Brown Bread. I am looking forward to making it right, as you learned in your trip to Ireland .
Thank you! I hope the bread is a hit at the party. I look forward to hearing how you like it.