Irish Brown Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is Irish brown bread made of? ›

Made with whole wheat flour, wheat germ, and rolled oats, this simple Irish brown bread comes together in no time and yields a hearty, super tasty loaf, perfect for toasting and slathering with butter and jam.

Store, well-wrapped, for a couple of days at room temperature. *If you don't have access to KA's whole meal Irish-style flour, you can substitute Whole wheat pastry flour. It will be finer, and the loaf a be a bit moister, but it is an adequate substitute.

Make sure you are using the correct amount of baking soda in the recipe. Too much or too little can result in a crumbly loaf. It's also possible that your oven wasn't hot enough when you baked the bread. Make sure to preheat your oven before baking Irish soda bread and don't open it frequently during the baking time.

It is actually Irish wheaten or “Brown Bread” that is the most popular and arguably the most delicious type of traditional Irish bread that exists. It's so common that you'll find brown bread in almost every home on the island and it's so versatile that it's offered with a range of menu items.

In the United States, "Irish soda bread" generally means a somewhat sweet white bread made with eggs and butter and studded with raisins and caraway seeds — the "soda" in the name comes from the baking soda (or "bread soda" in Ireland) used to leaven it instead of yeast and kneading.

Brown bread is made with wheat flour. Brown bread retains the germ and bran of wheat flour. This simple brown-coloured bread is made using wheat flour, water, salt, sugar, and yeast.

The leavening power of baking soda is about three to four times stronger than baking powder. This means that you need a lot less baking soda in your recipes. If a recipe calls for baking soda and you only have baking powder, you need to use the right baking soda to baking powder conversion.

Irish wholemeal flour is milled from lower protein soft winter wheat and contains less of the strength-forming elasticity found in all-purpose flour, bread flour, and other wheat flours (which are made with higher protein hard winter wheat).

The different varieties of Irish-style wholemeal flour typically range between brand offerings. For example, King Arthur Baking Company sells a custom blend that's coarsely ground from red whole wheat.

If your starter is not active, the bread will be dense. Under-kneading: Kneading helps to develop the gluten in the dough, which gives it structure and allows it to trap air bubbles. If the dough is not kneaded enough, it will be weak and dense. Under-proofing: Proofing is the time when the dough is allowed to rise.

How do you keep brown bread soft? ›

Bake for 45-50 minutes. To know when it is cooked simply tap the bottom of the loaf – it will sound hollow when it is fully cooked. Remove from the tin and wrap in a clean tea towel while cooling. This will keep the crust soft.

Baking quick breads at too high temperatures can cause a hard outside crust. Most quick breads bake in a moderate oven (350°F to 375°F). Double check your recipe to see the temperature they recommend. Oven thermostats can vary over time, requiring adjustments by the baker or calibration by a professional.

Popular Irish Foods

Potatoes are mixed with cabbage to make colcannon, mixed with scallions in champ, and added to meat and vegetables to make the traditional Irish Stew. Irish Stew has been a national dish of Ireland for nearly two hundred years, and is a hearty meal appreciated for its ability to satisfying hunger.

If you really want to get technical, brown bread is a form of soda bread since it uses baking soda as the leavening agent. However, the two loaves differ pretty significantly from there. Irish brown bread has a deep, nutty flavor because of its wheat flour and wheat bran while soda bread uses only white flour.

One of the reasons brown bread is so popular in Ireland is historically white flour was more expensive than wheat flour. Though today, that is quite the opposite. When baking Irish brown bread at home, look for the highest quality whole wheat flour you can find.

Indeed, brown bread is a powerhouse of nutrition that deserves to be celebrated! It's rich in fiber,low in added sugars, and an excellent source of essential nutrients. Plus, it's versatile enough to fit into any recipe.

It's called Irish Soda Bread because it's made with baking soda instead of yeast. Because of this, it's more dense than your everyday white sandwich bread. Hearty and rustic are the words that come to mind, and it tastes kind of nutty from the wholemeal flour.