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a slice of irish brown bread with butter on a plate
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4.78 from 9 reviews

Irish Brown Bread Recipe

Eileen Gray
I love Irish Brown Bread even more than the traditional white soda bread with raisins. It’s hearty and savory because it’s made with whole wheat flour.
Prep Time45 minutes
Bake Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Servings:24 servings

Ingredients

  • 10 ounces whole wheat flour (2 cups, see note)
  • 5 ounces all purpose flour (1 cup)
  • ½ ounces granulated sugar (1 tablespoon)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ounces unsalted butter (2 tablespoons, room temp)
  • 1 egg
  • 12 ounces buttermilk (1 ½ cups)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 °F. Line a ½ sheet pan with parchment paper.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add the butter and work in with your fingers until fully incorporated and there are no lumps larger than a pea.
  • Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Combine the egg and buttermilk and pour into the well. Mix gently with a wooden spoon until most of the buttermilk is incorporated. If the dough is very, very dry you can add a little more buttermilk.
  • Turn onto a floured surface and knead about 15-20 times until combined. Form the dough into a large round ball. Place the dough onto the parchment lined sheet pan and flatten the top a bit.
  • Using a sharp knife or a single edge razor blade cut a ½-¾" deep X shape across the top of the loaf. Brush the top of the loaf with buttermilk. Bake for 40-50 minutes until it is golden brown.
  • To check if it's done, turn the loaf over and tap the bottom. It should have a hollow sound. You can also use a probe thermometer to check for an internal temperature of about 200 °F.

Notes

If measuring the flour by volume use the “dip & sweep” method. That is, dip the measuring cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 84kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 155mg | Potassium: 71mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 64IU | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg