Irish Brown Bread

 
A couple of years ago I made my first loaf of Irish Soda Bread for an SCA event I attended, and instantly fell in love. I loved the thick, hearty texture and simple, yet complex, flavor. It’s perfect for toasting and slathering with butter and jam, to soak up extra broth from your favorite stew or to eat as a quick grab-a-snack! Any way you cut it, it’s fabulous bread that I have enjoyed over and over since first trying it. My wife even enjoys it! This year, I started seeing mention of Irish brown bread and went about trying to find some authentic recipes. Well, I found tons. And they all seemed to contradict each other in terms of what makes Irish brown bread truly “authentic” – some had to contain oats, some said absolutely no eggs, some said only four ingredients, and the list goes on and on. In the end it seemed that there was no one set of rules for Irish brown bread and I decided on this version. I loved this version because it included such a wide variety of flours and grains – all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and a combination of wheat bran and wheat germ. I used a stone-ground whole wheat flour and wheat germ since I didn’t have any wheat bran on hand. To be honest, I didn’t have any wheat germ either, but Wal-Mart did, and pretty inexpensive, too. It takes the hearty texture of the bread to a whole new level and is absolutely, utterly delicious. I cut the original recipe in half since the original calls for such a large amount of flour. The original poster suggested dividing the recipe into two loaves, but I just halved it and made one.

Irish Brown Bread

1 cup + 1½ teaspoons whole wheat flour
½ cup + 1½ teaspoons wheat bran, oat bran or wheat germ, or a combination
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1¼ cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon molasses

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and put it on the center oven rack.

2. Whisk together the whole wheat flour and wheat/oat bran or wheat germ in a large bowl.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the wheat flour mixture and whisk to combine.

4. Add the butter pieces and rub them into small pieces with the flour mixture using your fingers, until as small as possible.

5. Stir in the buttermilk and molasses until the dough is uniformly damp. Turn out onto a lightly floured countertop and knead gently, until the dough forms a smooth ball.

6. Use a sharp serrated knife (or a lame) to slice a cross deeply into the top of the bread, about 1-inch deep. Place the loaf on the hot baking sheet.

7. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until the loaf is firm on top and when you tap the bottom, feels hollow.

8. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack before serving.

Pumpkin Oat Bread

Who ever said pumpkin should not be served after Thanksgiving, has never tried my pumpkin oatmeal bread! This stuff is amazing, and simple to make. Try it either as loaves, or you can make it into muffins as well. Just watch the bake time for muffins, about 25-30 minutes.

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup rolled oat

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

4 eggs

2 cups pumpkin puree , fresh if possible

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease the bottoms of 2 loaf pans (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2). In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients, except the sugar. In a smaller bowl, combine sugar and all of the wet ingredients. Mix well until sugar is dissolved. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture. Stir to combine, but don't over mix. Pour into prepared loaf pans.

Bake 45-55 minutes, or until a test pick comes out clean. Cool in pans 5 minutes on cooling rack. Then, remove from pans and cool completely -- if it lasts that long!

Cider Pumpkin Bread with Raisins and Walnuts

Total Time:  1 hr 0 min

Prep: 10 min

Cook: 50 min

Yield: 2 loaves

Level: Easy

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 1 cup apple cider
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup ground Scottish oats
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup raisins
• 1 cup walnuts

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, and cider. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and mix until moistened. Add raisins and walnuts and mix thoroughly. Divide the batter into 2 portions and pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Place in oven and bake for 50 minutes. Cool in pans on a rack until room temperature. Remove from pans and serve.

I made these as muffins. Cut the baking time in half. 

WARNING: They are VERY addictive!

Plum Bread

I was fortunate enough to be gifted with a metric ton of plums from Feithline's Mom. They are SCRUMPTIOUS plums.. very nice eating. However, we got a LOT of them, so had to do something besides simply eat them one at a time. SO I went searching fro recipes, and found this one. Just made the loaves.. I made a double batch of the batter, and poured them into 6 mini loaf pans. Of course, watch your bake time when using smaller pans.

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 1 Hour Ready In: 1 Hour 15 Minutes Servings: 12

"Plums and walnuts are the key ingredients in this wonderful quick bread."

Ingredients:

1 egg 1/2 cup honey 2/3 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 cup chopped canned plums 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2.	In a large bowl, blend the egg, honey, sugar, and vanilla. Mix in the flour, baking soda, cloves, and cinnamon. Fold in the plums and walnuts.
3.	Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan, and bake 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.