brown bread

lg123

ok guys, i have started baking my own bread recently. my ideal bread is a bread like McNamees Wheaten Loaf. i have been using the odlums brown soda bread as i think its a relatively simple one to start off with. i know there are probably some sweetners in the mcnamees one which i want to stay away from atm. from the ones i have baked they have came out pretty good, all tasted excellent. however, they are never as light as i would like, they come out very 'dense' and not very 'spongey' if you know what i mean. what can i do to improve this?

Eviledna

hi Lg123,

Changing your ratio of wholewheat to ordinary flour can make a big difference in the texture of brown bread. Here's a favourite recipe of mine, taken from the best little cookbook in the world, the early 80's McDonnells Good Food Cookbook, which is imo the best recipe book for the started cook/baker, but is unfortunately out of print.

Enjoy!

http://iol.ie/~avondoyl/brbread.htm

lg123

hi Eviledna,

thats the same ratio i use, for a lighter bread should i increase the wholemeal flour? thanks for the recipe in any case.

Eviledna

No, I'd increase the normal flour, and make sure that you have sufficient raising agent in the bread, measure very accurately. Too much can make the bread bitter, too little, soggy.

The more bran/wholemeal/wheatgerm you have in a recipe the denser and nuttier it will be. For example, imagine what a sponge cake made with wholemeal would taste like! Not very light and spongey!

lg123

good point, will keep this mind next week. thanks

lg123

thought i would dig this up instead of starting a new thread. basically i have been playing with the aforementioned odlums recipe. i have been playing with it a bit since and have made some lovely bread. the last few times i have doubled the amount of ingredients as i dont want to bake every other day. when i do this the bread tends to come out a little doughy towards the centre, should i change the cooking time/temp as it will be a bigger lump of dough?

also, i tend to have the dough fairly wet before i put it in the oven, could this be a problem?

Very Interestin

I haven't made brown bread in ages but I thing your dough may be too sticky. I am about to try a Blazing Salads recipe and will let you know how I get on.

lg123

made the dough a little dryer last night and upped the time in the oven too. it rose really well and came out pretty good.

Very Interestin

Glad it worked out for you. The Blazing Salads recipe worked a treat, there is a great section on bread baking in general in the book, well worth a read.:)

schmeelad

There is an amazing B&B in near Duncannon Co Wexford called aldridge lodge. All their food is amazing and they bake their own brown bread there and it is by far the most amazing brown bread in the world. They wont tell you the recipe no matter how much you beg, a bit off the point from other posts, but its all i can think about when it comes to brown bread.

heathcliff

i was looking for brown bread recipe and i got this one back from rocknchef i have just made it and its fab look under the heading McCambridge Bread in index

curly from cork

hi all
i would appreciate a healthy recipe for wholmeal b.b . i am on a diet but would like to eat a slice or two occasionally as a break from porridge !
many thanks.

dixiefly

I made to the following recipe at the weekend. turned out very well.

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

The next brown Soda bread recipe in the site also looks good.

Eviledna

Did you try the recipe I listed earlier in this thread?

http://iol.ie/~avondoyl/brbread.htm

Alternatively, this is another one that I love:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/RE00036

If you want to go really dense, replace the 1.5 cups of plain flour to 1 cup plain, 0.5 cup oat flour. Remember if you are out of buttermilk, simply substitute normal milk with 1 tsp lemon juice per cup to sour.

Works a treat!

edna;)