Irish Brown Bread

I made a pot of soup for dinner one night and thought rolls sounded good so I grabbed all my cookbooks in search of a fast bread recipe. I settled on a recipe and went to work when I discovered I missed the part that said to let rise for 5-6 hours. Not wanting the ingredients to go to waste I set the bowl aside and waited the 5-6 hours and we went without rolls. If I had read the directions I would have also seen that once the rolls are shaped they must rise for another 5 hours. After all the effort the rolls turned out to be horrible. The kids used them to spit at each other.

Brown bread is great because it does not need to rise. Do not confuse this rustic Soda Bread with the richer Boston Brown Bread commonly found in Ale Houses. Traditional Irish Soda Bread is made with coarsely ground wheat flour. Quite different from the typical wheat flour found in the United States. If you have a grinder then making your own coarsely ground wheat flour is no problem. If you do not have access to a specialty shop try using King Aurthur. The butter they use in England as well as Ireland is very salty and therefore gives the bread more flavor. Normally I mix vinegar with milk to make buttermilk. With brown bread real buttermilk is essential. The buttermilk acts as the yeast, reacting with the baking soda.

Making brown bread is a fun way to teach the kids about chemistry. While you are waiting for the bread to cook, try adding different liquids to baking soda, namely lemon juice and vinegar (make sure you set the cup or bowl on a baking sheet).

Source: adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters
3 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 to 2 cups cultured buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Oil a small dutch oven or cast iron skillet.

In a large bowl stir together the flours, salt, and baking soda. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add 1 1/2 cups of the buttermilk. Stir, adding more buttermilk if needed, until all of the flour is incorporated. The dough will be pretty scrappy. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or two, just until the dough comes together. Form the dough into a round and place in the pan. Sprinkle a bench scrapper or a large knife with flour and cut a deep cross in the dough, as if you were going to divide the dough into four pieces.

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake for about 30 minutes more, until the loaf is nicely browned and sounds hollow when you knock on it.