Looking for a brown bread recipe.

axer

Hi all,

Im a beginner when it comes to baking.

Anyone got recipes for Irish Brown Bread - a recipe that is actually good for you but doesnt taste like cardboard.

Thanks.

lucylu

Darina Allens Brown Bread
This makes a huge long loaf or 2 rounds . Since the new year we stopped buying bread- make this for our lunches...

600 g (1 1/4 lb) plain flour
600 g (1 1/4 lb) wholemeal flour
2 tsp bread soda
2 tsp salt (i only put in less than one)
850 ml buttermilk (I also add a beaten egg with the buttermilk)

mix together
dont over knead and shape making it about 2 1/2 inches thick
Place on a floured baking tray

Put in Pre heated oven at 220c for 20-25 minutes and then at 200c for 20 minutes

or on Fan oven 210 for 20 minutes and 190 for 20 minutes

take out of oven Wrap in tea towel to stop the crusty getting too crusty

Bring on the butter an Jam!!

noby

Wow, that is a big loaf. Feel free to scale it down, axer. I use pretty much the same recipe, though not as much.
Also it's nice to throw a fistful of something into the mix; eg pinhead oatmeal, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds etc., and perhaps some pinhead oatmeal or the like sprinkled on top.

olaola

Just made the Avoca seed bread the other day - and it was fandabbydosey!!!

I'll get the exact proportions for you but it's more or less:

Wholemeal flour
plain flour
baking powder
treacle
milk
pumpkin seeds
sunflower seeds
sesame seeds
linseed
poppy seeds
bran
wheatgerm.

Now - we didn't have the bran or wheatgerm, but it still turned out VERY well.
Cooked it at gas mark 5 for an hour. Top notch!

ambman

300g strong flour
225g wholemeal flour
7g salt
8g bread soda
12g fat
12g caster sugar
450g buttermilk


just bring it together. the worst thing you can do is overmix brown soda. round it up cut a cross on top and bake at 200c for 25 to 30 mins. to make sure its baked properly tap it on the bottom and if it sounds hallow it ready.
enjoy;) and dont forget to toast some:D

axer

Thanks guys.

So something like this then:
300 g plain flour
300 g wholemeal flour
1 tsp bread soda
1 tsp salt
425 ml buttermilk - maybe with an egg

I have wheat germ and wheat bran that I bought to put into another recipe that I had tried (final result didnt end up as good as I though). Could it put into this or would they detract from it or what? If yes, how much?

I will get some sunflower seeds aswell and some pinhead oatmeal seed for on top too then.

noby

That looks fine. No harm in starting off with a plain one, then you can add different things to see what you like best.

axer

Can I use this same recipe for brown scones? should any changes be made or anything different done when mixing or baking?

LINKY.V.18

i'll give you a really nice recipe for a yeast brown bread if you want. More bready and less cakey.let me know.

axer

yes, please.

ambman

axer wrote: »

Can I use this same recipe for brown scones? should any changes be made or anything different done when mixing or baking?

Yes you can just dont bake them as long.

P. Breathnach

I always use twice as much wholemeal flour as white flour, and I think that is fairly common.
1 cup plain white flour
2 cups wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon bread soda
1 teaspoon salt (like lucylu, I go below the standard level, using a half teaspoon)
a small handful of bran (I like my bread very brown and high-fibre)
sometimes 1 teaspoon of sugar (especially if I am making scones)

Mix dry ingredients very well, then mix with enough buttermilk (or sour milk or yoghurt) to just about hold everything together.

I bake for 10 minutes at 230 and about 30-35 minutes at 180.

Suits me, but I don't know what cardboard tastes like.

Mr E

Dry Ingredients (put in a bowl and mix):

1lb Wholemeal Flour (Stone Ground)
2 tablesp muesli
2 tablesp porridge oatmeal (pinhead works too, different texture)
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
1 pinch sugar
2 desert spoons brown sugar (demerera)
2 tablesp sunflower seeds
2 tablesp pumpkin seeds

Add wet ingredients and mix well:

1 egg (beaten)
1 tablesp treacle
1 tablesp sunflower oil
About 3 quarters of a litre of buttermilk (more or less)

Mixture should be pretty wet when finished (but not runny).

Grease 2 loaf tins (rectangular) with some sunflower oil. Divide mixture across both loaf tins. Add garnish if you want - some pumpkin seeds, or pecan nuts, or poppy seeds.

Cook at 185 for 40-45 minutes (fan assisted oven).

I make 2 a week and its delicious.

RealFood

I be desperate to find a rough/grainy, moist, dark (assume heavy with treacle), sweet brown bread (and not white soda bread, which I've finally got almost to perfection after many failed attempts).
Your recipie looks to maybe come close to what I am looking for. Most of the recipies I have tried are in the right taste direction, but the right grains seem to be missing and they are way too light and dry.
Does your recipie, Mr E, get me to the holy land of the ideal brown bread?

Kimia

Sorry to drag up an old thread but I too am on a quest to find yummy but very healthy brown bread.

Any suggestions anyone? I think i will try Mr E's.

dixiefly

I have been experimenting over recent months and was also asking my MIL who used to make great brown bread. Finally found her recipe online and the bread was a big hit at home.

Here it is

http://www.littleshamrocks.com/Irish-Bread-Scone-Recipes.html

Hazelnut Brown Bread Loaf



From the kitchen of Pascal & Pauline Pigott
Cloone, Co. Leitrim, Ireland

8 oz. whole meal flour
8 oz. self-rising flour
1 rounded teaspoon baking powder
1 level teaspoon baking soda
1 individual size pot hazelnut yogurt (125 ml)
1 large egg
1 cup milk

oven 375F

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease loaf pan generously.

Combine the first four ingredients in a large bowl; set aside. Whisk together yogurt, egg and milk. Add to the dry ingredients and mix to make a soft dough. Turn into the loaf pan.

With a greased spatula, smooth out the top. Bake for 15 minutes at 375F, then reduce heat to 350F and continue baking for 40 minutes.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then continue to cool on a wire rack. Cut when completely cooled.

Note: For two loaves, just double the recipe.

_blank_

There was a delicious brown bread in the Cooking Club

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055794122

PaddyJules

I tried Mr E's recipe last night (as below)

1lb Wholemeal Flour (Stone Ground)
2 tablesp muesli
2 tablesp porridge oatmeal (pinhead works too, different texture)
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
1 pinch sugar
2 desert spoons brown sugar (demerera)
2 tablesp sunflower seeds
2 tablesp pumpkin seeds1 egg (beaten)
1 tablesp treacle
1 tablesp sunflower oil
About 3 quarters of a litre of buttermilk (more or less)

and it tasted wonderful. But it was very crumbly and just went into bits when I sliced it. What is the solution - should I add more liquid or less liquid? I also used half plain flour and half wholemeal.

hussey

is bread soda the same as baking soda?

Faith

Tis indeed.

The Sweeper

Made the darina allen recipe as posted by lucylu today. Made it with buttermilk, and added a handful of porridge oats and an egg for extra flavour. Bloody marvellous.

It's funny, but soda bread for me is a real 'taste of ireland' - I never realise how much I miss it until I get some while abroad. Now I shall be making it regularly!

biddywiddy

PaddyJules wrote: »

But it was very crumbly and just went into bits when I sliced it. What is the solution - should I add more liquid or less liquid? I also used half plain flour and half wholemeal.

I'm not sure but I think less liquid. I have been experimenting alot lately with brown bread recipes. I've been trying to imitate one an ex-flatmate of mine used to make. It had treacle and seeds in it and it was sooo good. I always end up with a runny mix and the finished loaf just falls apart when you slice it.

Another recipe I've tried has less liquid added and it never falls apart, so at a guess, try reducing the amount of liquid you add!

huskerdu

PaddyJules wrote: »

I tried Mr E's recipe last night (as below)

1lb Wholemeal Flour (Stone Ground)
2 tablesp muesli
2 tablesp porridge oatmeal (pinhead works too, different texture)
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
1 pinch sugar
2 desert spoons brown sugar (demerera)
2 tablesp sunflower seeds
2 tablesp pumpkin seeds1 egg (beaten)
1 tablesp treacle
1 tablesp sunflower oil
About 3 quarters of a litre of buttermilk (more or less)

and it tasted wonderful. But it was very crumbly and just went into bits when I sliced it. What is the solution - should I add more liquid or less liquid? I also used half plain flour and half wholemeal.

Is this recipe formed into a cake to bake, or baked in a tin ?
If in a tin, make sure that the surface is very smooth before you put it in the oven. I was in a hurry and didn't do this once and the bread was impossible to slice without crumbling ?
This might be your problem. If the bread, even though it crumbled tasted good, dont reduce the liquid too much. Dry brown bread is vile. The mixture should be soft but not sticky, but nearly sticky.

PaddyJules

I baked it in a loaf tin. The mixture was very wet and gloopy so maybe I will reduce the liquid slightly. And I will try leveling the top off as well. Why is something with so few ingredients so difficult to perfect!!

dixiefly

I am serious, try the one I posted. I had tried several ones and found some crumbly and also found the one from the cooking club very moist even though it was tasty.

The hazelnut yogurt really gives it an edge.

Toto Wolfcastle

Mr E wrote: »

Dry Ingredients (put in a bowl and mix):

1lb Wholemeal Flour (Stone Ground)
2 tablesp muesli
2 tablesp porridge oatmeal (pinhead works too, different texture)
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
1 pinch sugar
2 desert spoons brown sugar (demerera)
2 tablesp sunflower seeds
2 tablesp pumpkin seeds

Add wet ingredients and mix well:

1 egg (beaten)
1 tablesp treacle
1 tablesp sunflower oil
About 3 quarters of a litre of buttermilk (more or less)

Mixture should be pretty wet when finished (but not runny).

Grease 2 loaf tins (rectangular) with some sunflower oil. Divide mixture across both loaf tins. Add garnish if you want - some pumpkin seeds, or pecan nuts, or poppy seeds.

Cook at 185 for 40-45 minutes (fan assisted oven).

I make 2 a week and its delicious.

Just bumping this thread to ask a question about this recipe. Would it taste ok if I left out the sugar and treacle? I presume it would but I want to be sure.

dobh

best brown bread I have ever made is from the Odlums.ie website - it is their wholemeal loaf recipe. it makes two loaves. sometimes I throw in extras like linseed / poppy seeds/ sesame seeds - whatever, and just add a little more milk to keep it a nice dropping consistency. it should almost pour into the baking tin. No problems with cutting it . It is very popular with my gang and those who live away from home always beg for a loaf when returning to their own abodes.

Feel free to ask any questions . By the way I usually just use brown sugar instead of the treacle as less hassle in my opinion.

Live at Three

You absolutely cannot go wrong with this...both my mother AND mother in law have changed to this recipe!

http://tangelledangel.com/2009/01/13/the-best-brown-bread-recipe-ever/

If you buy the ingredients you will have enough to make loaves for weeks, you just have to buy buttermilk and eggs then. I litre of buttermilk does 3 loaves so I usually do the 3 together and freeze one or 2.

Tastes delicious. Have a slice while still warm, with butter melting on it...my goodness...(Just don't try to cut it straight after taking it out of the oven or it will crumble)

You can't beat it with a big stick with a rusty nail on the end of it.

knockinglass

250G COARSE WHOLEMEAL FLOUR
150G JUMBO OATS FLAKES
250G PLAIN FLOUR
10G SALT
15G BAKING SODA
I TABLESPOON OF HONEY AND TREACLE
500ML BUTTERMILK
PREHEAT OVEN TO 200
MIX DRY TOGETHER, ADD WET,MIX LIGHTLY BAKE IN TINS OR ROUNDS,SLASH WITH KNIFE BEFORE BAKING FOR 45 MINUTES (LESS FOR FAN OVENS-TRIAL AND ERROR)

johnnycee66

preheat oven to 200

1 kg whole meal flour(howards extra coarse seems best, others seem too fine and dense)
5g salt
20g brown sugar
20g breadsoda
1 litre buttermilk (or 900ml milk soured with mixture of 60ml olive oil and 60ml cider vinegar, shaken together)

Mix dry ingredients.
Add milk and mix quickly and deftly
butter 4 1lb tins or 2 2lb tins
fill with mixture
bake for 1 hr (for the 2lb tins, bake for 70 mins thereabouts at 180, take out of tins and return to oven for 10 mins)

We've been using this recipe for about 14 years, we learned it in Heir Island. Foolproof and tasty. Smaller loaves freeze well.

joseph brand

lucylu wrote: »

Darina Allens Brown Bread
This makes a huge long loaf or 2 rounds . Since the new year we stopped buying bread- make this for our lunches...

600 g (1 1/4 lb) plain flour
600 g (1 1/4 lb) wholemeal flour
2 tsp bread soda
2 tsp salt (i only put in less than one)
850 ml buttermilk (I also add a beaten egg with the buttermilk)

mix together
dont over knead and shape making it about 2 1/2 inches thick
Place on a floured baking tray

Put in Pre heated oven at 220c for 20-25 minutes and then at 200c for 20 minutes

or on Fan oven 210 for 20 minutes and 190 for 20 minutes

take out of oven Wrap in tea towel to stop the crusty getting too crusty

Bring on the butter an Jam!!

Is it possible to use Self Raising Flour instead? I'm gonna make this in the next hour. It's just that I have over 3Kg of Self Raising and no plain flour.