Go Back
–+ servings
Print Recipe

Traditional Irish Brown Bread

This traditional Irish brown bread recipe is the epitome of cozy, and is incredibly easy to whip up...it's also quite healthy, full of whole grains and perfect with a cup of tea!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Additional Time15 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Bread Recipes
Servings: 1 large loaf

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of coarse whole wheat flour; see notes
  • 2 cups of white flour sometimes I use part whole wheat here
  • 1 cup of wheat bran
  • 1 dessert spoon of wheat germ or ground flaxseeds
  • 1 3/4 teaspoons of baking soda
  • 1 ounce of butter or 4 tablespoons of oil I recommend oil for a more moist bread
  • A heavy pinch of kosher salt like 1/2 teaspoon
  • 3 cups of buttermilk or sour milk

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 370 F (180 C).  
  • Combine dry ingredients in a bowl.
  • Stir in the wet ingredients, mixing well into a soft dough (really more of a thick batter).
  • Transfer your batter to a large loaf tin (non-stick, or if it's not then grease it).  Make sure to level out the top of the batter so it bakes evenly.
  • Bake for at least 40 minutes…that’s what the recipe says, but I found it needed 60-85 minutes depending on the day and ingredients used.  Maybe my loaf tin is a bit smaller than what Jimmy uses.
  • The bread is cooked if it sounds hollow when the loaf is tapped on the bottom, and a thermometer inserted reads around 200 F.  When you think it’s done, give it 5 more minutes.
  • Let it cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then turn out on a cooling rack.  Try not to cut into it until it’s down to around 80 F inside (if you can wait!).

Notes

  1. Irish wholemeal flour is much coarser (more coarsely-ground) than our whole wheat flour in America. I strongly recommend finding Irish wholemeal flour (see link below), or grinding your own on the coarsest setting (what I did). Odlum's has both a coarse and extra-coarse, both work fine.
  2. On my second loaf I upped the amount of whole wheat flour a bit and decreased teh white flour, and it was just as good (and healthier).
  3. I didn't have both wheat bran and wheat germ. I subbed ground flaxseeds in one case, and it worked just fine.