Irish Brown Bread

Mar 18, 2010<br/>I have been looking for a good (Irish) brown bread recipe since my trip to Dublin some years ago, and this one is close to what was served in the Dublin pubs and at the Bed & Breakfast we stayed at.<br/>The bread is dense and flavorful. I did make a few slight changes: <br/>1. I had to sub Quaker Old Fashioned Oats for the Quick Cooking oats because that is what I had on hand.<br/>2. I made 1 large loaf instead of two smaller ones.<br/>3. I increased the baking time and decreased the temperature a bit because of the size of the larger loaf. It came out perfectly.<br/><br/>I place the dough on a parchment lined (ungreased) baking sheet, and patted it into a nice round shape, then I cut an X/cross into the top. I baked it in a preheated 425F oven for 10 minutes, then I decreased the temperature to 375F and baked it for 20 minutes. I removed it from the oven, wrapped it in a clean tea towel, and placed it on a rack to cool. The tea towel kept the crust from being too hard. The bread was very easy to make, and close to what I had in Dublin. Next time, I might sub molasses for the honey just to see how it comes out. This easy recipe makes a lovely, tasty loaf that goes well with stews or soups, or just slathered with butter. Yummmm!<br/>Thanks for posting the recipe. :-) :-)<br/>Mar 22, 2010 - edited to correct typos.<br/>Aug. 30, 2010<br/>Made the bread again today, and I made a few changes. The biggest change was baking it in a 8 x 3-inch loaf pan. It came out wonderful. Of course baking it in a pan requires a longer baking time at a lower temperature. I baked it at 375 for 10 min, then lowered the temp to 337 for about 45 minutes. Next time I think I will bake it at 345 for 50-60 minutes. I also added 3 Tablespoons of ground flax seed to the flour/oat/wheat germ mixture, and I used 1 Tablespoon molasses and 1 Tablespoon honey (instead of 2 Tb honey) mixed into real churned buttermilk. I buttered a piece of parchment for the bottom of the loaf pan, it worked very well. The bread did stick to the sides of the pan, but running a thin bladed paring knife around the sides took care of that. The bread came right out, (next time, I may butter the pan sides). I kept the loaf tightly wrapped in a clean tea towel while it cooled (so the crust would soften a bit). A perfect loaf that I can use for sandwiches and toast. :-)

Having been to Ireland twice, brown bread is one of my favorite things (along with seafood chowder and black pudding). This recipe was okay. I think the texture was great despite that other reviewer's opinion. The aroma actually reminded me of brownies somehow. But there's something missing... All the examples I've had in Ireland were darker with a malty sweetness. I had anticipated this and actually added 2 teaspoons of robust molasses to the liquid mix, but even that didn't get things dark and sweet enough! Also, I think it could stand a bit more salt. Lastly, this recipe makes ONE loaf pan's worth. I'm sure it can do 2 hand formed round loaves, but every brown bread I had was from a rectangular loaf pan.

i found this bread to be very hard &dense. the crust was a challenge to cut with a very sharp knife...no one liked it...never make again