Traditional Brown Irish Soda Bread Recipes

TRADITIONAL IRISH BROWN SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Mix the dry ingredients very well.
• Moisten with the sour milk to form a soft dough.
• Knead lightly.
• Form into a round, mark with a cross, place on a tin and bake for 30-45 minutes in the oven at 220°C.

TRADITIONAL BROWN SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 6, 200°C (400°F). Mix the flour, bread soda and salt together in a bowl. Combine the egg with the buttermilk and honey then mix into the flour. Add a little more buttermilk if the mixture is dry - it should be a soft dough. Pour the dough into a lightly oiled loaf tin. Sprinkle the sesame seeds or porridge oats over the top of the loaf if using. 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.

MUM'S TRADITIONAL IRISH SODA BREAD RECIPE (BROWN BREAD)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F (215°C).
• Mix together the flours, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles bread crumbs.
• In a separate jug, whisk the egg and buttermilk together (see note on how to make Buttermilk below)
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the liquid, 3/4 at once, into the flour mixture.
• Using an open hand bring the flour and liquid together to a loose dough. The dough should be quite soft, but not too sticky. You will know then if it needs more of the liquids. (Flour in different places reacts differently to added liquid).
• Turn onto a floured work surface and gently bring the dough together into a round, about 1 1/2 inches (4cm) thick (8 inches by 8 inches).
• Place on a baking sheet dusted well with flour.
• Score the bread by blessing it with a deep cross on top. Poke a hole in the 4 corners of the bread to release the fairies and stop them from cursing your beautiful bread.
• Glaze the bread with the leftover bit of buttermilk in your jug and dust the top with rolled oats.
• Bake for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 400°F (200°C) and bake for 30 minutes more. When done, the loaf will sound slightly hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove from the baking sheet and place on a wire rack to cool.

REAL TRADITIONAL IRISH SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Heat a heavy skillet, griddle, or cast-iron frying pan over medium-low heat.
• Stir the flour and salt together in a bowl, and sift in the baking soda. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and pour in the buttermilk. Stir the mixture quickly together into a dough, and turn out onto a floured work surface. Knead the dough a few times, just until it comes together. Gently form the dough into a flattened, round cake about 1/2 inch thick, and cut the round into quarters with a floured knife.
• Sprinkle a little bit of flour into the bottom of the hot skillet, and cook the wedges 6 to 8 minutes per side, until golden brown.

TRADITIONAL IRISH SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking soda. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk. Using your hand, mix in the flour from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be soft but not wet and sticky.
• Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface. Wash and dry your hands. Knead the dough lightly for a few seconds, then pat the dough into a round about 1 1/2 inches thick. Place it on a buttered baking sheet and using a sharp knife, cut a deep cross in the center of the dough reaching out all the way to the sides.
• Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees, and continue to bake until the top is golden brown and the bottom of the bread sounds hollow when tapped, about 30 minutes longer. Serve warm.

IRISH BROWN SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit (200° Celsius).
• In a large mixing bowl, combine both flours, salt and baking soda and give everything a good mix until well combined.
• Pour in buttermilk and mix with a wooden spoon until the flour has absorbed all the liquid. Now, use your hands to form a dough. You can do this either in the bowl or by transferring the dough onto a floured worktop (if the dough is thicker, you might need to knead it to come together 2 or 3 times).
• Transfer the loaf onto a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and brush with egg wash (beaten egg).
• Bake in a preheated oven at 400° Fahrenheit (200° Celsius) for 30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown on top and the bottom is hard (brown as well).
• When ready, take it out and let it cool down before slicing.

TRADITIONAL BROWN IRISH SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425F (not fan assisted). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
• Toast the wheat bran and wheat germ by scattering onto a dry baking sheet and placing into a 350F oven, for 3-4 minutes, stirring once or twice. Watch closely as it can quickly burn if left too long. Remove from oven and immediately remove from the baking sheet to a bowl to cool a few minutes before using.
• *I like to do the toasting when my oven is preheating. When it reaches about the 325F mark, I'll pop in the baking sheet and it. Alternately, just preheat oven to 350F, toast, then increase the oven temperature to 425F once you've finished toasting.
• In a large bowl, combine the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, toasted wheat bran and wheat germ, rolled oats, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine well. Add the butter and rub into the flour mixture with your fingertips, until it is the consistency of fine meal. Add about 2/3 of the buttermilk and stir well to combine. Continue adding buttermilk in small increments, until the dough comes together in a moist, but not sticky dough. You may not need to use all of the buttermilk, but reserve any excess for brushing the top. Remove the dough to a work surface and roughly shape into a loaf shape to fit the pan.
• Brush top of loaf with buttermilk and scatter with more rolled oats and press down gently.
• Bake loaf until golden brown and until a long tester inserted in the centre of the loaf comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. *If your top is well browned but it is not yet testing ready, you can loosely lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the loaf to be able to cook it longer, without it browning too much further. Remove from oven and immediately remove loaf to a cooling rack to cool. Allow the loaf to cool to just warm or completely before slicing.

IRISH BROWN SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Lightly grease two baking sheets.
• In a large bowl, stir together whole wheat flour, white flour, rolled oats, baking soda and salt. Gently mix in the buttermilk until a soft dough is formed. Knead very lightly. Divide dough into 4 pieces; form into rounded flat loaves. Mark each loaf with an 'X' and place on prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 to 45 minutes.

CLASSIC IRISH SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Whisk together first 5 ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In another bowl, whisk together 1 egg and buttermilk. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Stir in raisins., Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead gently 6-8 times. Shape into a 6-1/2-in. round loaf; place on a greased baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, make a shallow cross in top of loaf. Whisk remaining egg; brush over top., Bake until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Remove from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

TRADITIONAL BROWN IRISH SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Sieve the Salt, Bread Soda and All purpose flour into a bowl. Mix in the Wholewheat flour and wheatgerm. Add enough milk to make a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the mixture comes together. Place on a floured baking sheet forming into a round loaf (approx 10" diameter).
• Place into a preheated oven (central position) and bake at 375 to 400 F for 40 to 45 minutes. When baked the bread will sound hollow when you tap it on the bottom. Cool on a baking rack or wrap in a dry tea towel to give a softer crust.
• Enjoy.