Whole Wheat Soda Bread Recipes

100% WHOLE WHEAT IRISH SODA BREAD

Steps:

• In a big mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
• Cut in butter until it reaches a coarse meal consistency. (I started with two knives, then finished the process with my fingers.).
• Add raisins.
• Combine liquids separately. Add liquids to dry ingredients.
• Mix until a soft dough forms. At some point it will become hard to stir it, and it will be better to use your hands. Kneading the dough is the best way to combine all the ingredients completely -- knead it gently until it is smooth (about 3 minutes). You can knead it right there in the mixing bowl.
• Shape the dough into two balls, and place them on a greased cookie sheet. Flatten each ball slightly and cut an X about 1/4" deep in the top of each loaf.
• Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.

WHOLE WHEAT SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450°F.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, whole wheat flour, wheat germ, salt and baking soda.
• Using your fingertips, work the softened butter into the flour mixture.
• In a small bowl, whisk the egg.
• Add the buttermilk to the egg; mix well.
• Make a well in the flour and add most of the buttermilk/egg mixture - reserving about 1/4 cup.
• Use your hands to combine the dry and wet ingredients until it forms a loose dough.
• If the dough will not come together, add some or all of the remaining buttermilk/egg mixture.
• On a well-floured surface, turn out the dough.
• Sprinkle the dough with flour and shape it into a 7-8 inch circle.
• Flatten it slightly with the tips of your fingers.
• Place the loaf on a baking sheet (I line mine with parchment paper).
• Score (criss-cross) the top of the loaf with a bread knife, cutting about 1/4 inch deep, and making three cuts in one direction and 3 more cuts crossing them.
• Bake for 15 minutes at 450°F.
• Reduce the heat to 400 F and continue baking another 20 minutes.
• If you have an instant read thermometer, insert it halfway into the bottom of the loaf.
• The thermometer should read 190/195 F when baked.
• Let cool for 15 minutes; then serve.

IRISH WHOLE WHEAT SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a cookie sheet or an 8- or 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray.
• Sift whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together until well combined. Add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough that's firm enough to hold its shape.
• Knead on a lightly floured surface until dough is smooth and velvety, 2 to 3 minutes. It will seem very crumbly for a while until everything gets incorporated.
• Form into a round loaf and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Cut a cross on the top of the loaf with a very sharp, floured knife. (The cross is a characteristic of soda bread.)
• Bake in the preheated oven until loaf is browned and sounds hollow when you tap on it, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

WHOLE WHEAT SODA BREAD WITH RAISINS (SPOTTED DOG)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment. In a large bowl, mix together flours, soda, salt and brown sugar. Swish mixture around with your hands to distribute salt and soda through the bread. Add raisins and toss mixture together to coat raisins with flour.
• Beat egg and place in a measuring cup. Add buttermilk; the liquid in the cup should measure about 1 3/4 cups.
• Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Pour egg/buttermilk mixture into the well. Working from the center of the bowl in concentric clockwise circles, with fingers outstretched, stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture. (You can use a rubber spatula instead if you don't like getting dough on your hands.) This should take about a half a minute at most. Dough will be sticky and ragged.
• Dust your work surface with flour, clean and dry your hands and dust with flour. Scrape out dough and very quickly and gently pat it into a 1 1/2- to 2-inch-high round and tuck the bottom edges under. (Alternatively, place in a lightly buttered 10-inch round cake pan.) Place on parchment-covered baking sheet. Moisten a knife and cut a deep cross across top of bread.
• Place in oven and immediately turn the heat down to 400 degrees. Bake 40 minutes, until the loaf is dark brown and makes a hollow sound when tapped. Remove from oven, wrap loosely in a kitchen towel (to soften the crust) and place on a rack to cool.