Update 3/18/2013: Rouxbe has changed the structure of their site and their recipes are no longer available to non-members, so the links in my post won’t get you to the recipe unless you’re a Rouxbe subscriber. Since it’s not my recipe I don’t feel right reprinting it here.
I do however have another great Brown Bread recipe to share from David Lebovits. I followed his suggestions and used whole wheat pastry flour. He also suggested reducing the amount of wheat germ, I reduced it to 1/4 cup and taking a tip from the Rouxbe recipe added 1 cup of steel cut oats. It turned out great. Check out his Brown Bread recipe!
The recipes I’ve made from the Rouxbe website have always been outstanding, but this one caused near obsessive behavior as repeatedly chose to eat more of this bread rather than anything else. Maybe Just another slice, this time toasted with some jam.
The texture of this Irish Brown Soda Bread is what had me on my knees begging for more. A most magical chewiness made it downright addictive. It helped that I was slathering the slices with fresh homemade butter, but even sans slather, I couldn’t seem to stop eating this bread. I credit the steel-cut oats for pushing the texture to a level of pure delight. They not only added chewiness but the oat grains almost popped when bitten into. If you’ve had the pleasure of eating a bowl of steel-cut oat cereal, you know what I mean about the distinctive pop as the individual grains are chewed.
Irish Brown Soda Bread
Don’t be intimidated if you aren’t a bread baker because this is a quick bread. As in, mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet in another, stir them together and pop it in the oven. No more complicated than making cornbread or muffins.
It was buttermilk that led me to making this bread. For my own private little celebration of St. Patrick’s Day I tried my hand at making butter. Of course buttermilk is a byproduct of the process and when I saw this recipe and realized it would not only put my freshly extracted buttermilk to good use, but act as a suitable delivery vehicle for the the gorgeous butter I’d just made, I got right to work.
Steel-cut oats
If you don’t have steel-cut oats on hand, get some. Not only can you make this spectacularly simple bread, but you can make this…
Steel-cut oats cereal with cranberries and pecans
Check out my guest blog post for Girl Power Hour to learn how to make the best bowl of oatmeal. The key is starting with steel-cut oats.
Happily the success I had makeing this bread wasn’t a fluke; I’ve made the bread twice now. I also wanted to be sure it was just as good with commercial buttermilk, and it is. For a different twist on Irish Soda Bread, check out Imen McDonald’s post about her Wild Garlic Flax Seed Soda Bread. It looks gorgeous.
Recipe Links:
- Irish Brown Soda Bread, from Rouxbe.com
- Wild Garlic Flax Seed Soda Bread, from I Married an Irish Farmer
- Brown Bread from David Lebovits
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I would like to have the Irish Brown Bread recipe referenced in your post. I found one in Southern Living, loved the addition of cold steel oats and buttermilk and have misplaced the recipe. The one you wrote about from ROUXBE sounds like the one I used to bake. Please share with me to retry.
Thanks, Marcia Morris
Marcia – sorry the link to the Rouxbe recipe no longer works unless you’re a Rouxbe subscriber. I’ve added a link to another great Irish Brown Soda Bread by David Lebovits in an update at the top of the post.