Made with whole wheat flour, wheat germ, and rolled oats, this simple Irish brown bread comes together in no time and yields a hearty, super-tasty loaf, perfect for toasting and slathering with good Irish butter. Break out the Kerrygold!
If you Google “brown bread,” search results pull recipes ranging from black-hued breads baked in cans to light-hued brioche-like loaves baked in Pullman pans.
This traditional Irish brown recipe includes rolled oats and comes from Reader Michael in Ireland. Unlike Irish soda bread , which is made from a thick dough that can be formed before going in the oven, Irish brown bread is made with a very wet dough and requires a loaf pan or other mold. Typically, it’s made with a good amount of whole wheat flour and wheat germ.
I love this bread for many reasons, but especially for its speed and simplicity: the batter can be mixed together before the oven preheats; it smells like a savory pancake as it bakes; and it yields a super flavorful, hearty loaf perfect for slicing, toasting, and slathering with good Irish butter.
My children love this bread with their eggs for breakfast, and when it’s freshly baked, they love packing buttered slices in their lunch boxes. If you love soda bread, you will love this delicious take on the Irish quick bread. Find step-by-step instructions below.
Irish Brown Bread, Step by Step
Gather your ingredients: As noted above, I’m using a mix of Cairnspring Mills flour, but you can use any stone-milled or whole-wheat flour you like.
Measure them out, if you wish. For best results, use a scale to measure.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl:
And whisk them together:
Whisk together the wet ingredients:
Then add them to the dry:
Stir until you have a very sticky dough/batter:
Transfer it to a buttered 8.5×4.4-inch loaf pan:
Sprinkle with oats:
Then transfer to the oven:
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes:
Let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing:
While I wouldn’t use this bread for sandwiches, I couldn’t recommend it more for toast:
Break out the Kerrygold!
Enjoy.
Description
Made with whole wheat flour, wheat germ, and rolled oats, this simple Irish brown bread comes together in no time and yields a hearty, super-tasty loaf, perfect for toasting and slathering with good Irish butter. Break out the Kerrygold!
Recipe adapted from reader Michael — thank you!
Notes:
For best results, use a scale to measure.
Flour: I’m using 100% Cairnspring Mills stone-milled flour here. For the bread flour portion of the recipe, I used their Glacier Peak Bread Flour, and for the whole wheat flour, I used their Sequoia All-Purpose Flour. Just know that you can really use any mix of whole wheat and all-purpose or bread flour here — it’s a dense, hearty bread so many flours will work. You need 2.75 cups flour total.
Salt: If you are using Morton Kosher Salt or fine sea salt, use half as much by volume or the same amount by weight.
- 180 grams (about 1.5 cups ) bread flour, see notes above
- 165 grams (about 1.25 cups ) whole wheat flour, see notes above
- 50 grams (about 1/2 cup ) rolled oats, plus more for sprinkling
- 44 grams (about 1/2 cup ) wheat germ
- 10 grams (about 2 teaspoons ) brown sugar
- 10 grams (about 2 teaspoons ) Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, see notes above
- 5 grams (about 1 teaspoon ) baking soda
- 1 egg
- 450 grams (about 1.75 cups ) buttermilk
- 28 grams ( 2 tablespoons ) melted butter
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Butter an 8.5×4.5 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to mix until you have a wet, sticky batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Using a wet hand, spread the batter out evenly in the pan. Sprinkle oats over the top to cover.
- Transfer to the oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out cleanly. If you have an instant-read thermometer, it should register roughly 205ºF when it’s done. Do be sure to test the loaf before removing it from the oven — once I removed it without testing, and upon cutting it, I found a pocket of un-cooked dough in the center. Err on the side of over-baking — it’s forgiving!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American, Irish
Made with whole wheat flour, wheat germ, and rolled oats, this simple Irish brown bread comes together in no time and yields a hearty, super-tasty loaf, perfect for toasting and slathering with good Irish butter. Break out the Kerrygold!
If you Google “brown bread,” search results pull recipes ranging from black-hued breads baked in cans to light-hued brioche-like loaves baked in Pullman pans.
This traditional Irish brown recipe includes rolled oats and comes from Reader Michael in Ireland. Unlike Irish soda bread , which is made from a thick dough that can be formed before going in the oven, Irish brown bread is made with a very wet dough and requires a loaf pan or other mold. Typically, it’s made with a good amount of whole wheat flour and wheat germ.
I love this bread for many reasons, but especially for its speed and simplicity: the batter can be mixed together before the oven preheats; it smells like a savory pancake as it bakes; and it yields a super flavorful, hearty loaf perfect for slicing, toasting, and slathering with good Irish butter.
My children love this bread with their eggs for breakfast, and when it’s freshly baked, they love packing buttered slices in their lunch boxes. If you love soda bread, you will love this delicious take on the Irish quick bread. Find step-by-step instructions below.
Irish Brown Bread, Step by Step
Gather your ingredients: As noted above, I’m using a mix of Cairnspring Mills flour, but you can use any stone-milled or whole-wheat flour you like.
Measure them out, if you wish. For best results, use a scale to measure.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl:
And whisk them together:
Whisk together the wet ingredients:
Then add them to the dry:
Stir until you have a very sticky dough/batter:
Transfer it to a buttered 8.5×4.4-inch loaf pan:
Sprinkle with oats:
Then transfer to the oven:
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes:
Let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing:
While I wouldn’t use this bread for sandwiches, I couldn’t recommend it more for toast:
Break out the Kerrygold!
Enjoy.
Description
Made with whole wheat flour, wheat germ, and rolled oats, this simple Irish brown bread comes together in no time and yields a hearty, super-tasty loaf, perfect for toasting and slathering with good Irish butter. Break out the Kerrygold!
Recipe adapted from reader Michael — thank you!
Notes:
For best results, use a scale to measure.
Flour: I’m using 100% Cairnspring Mills stone-milled flour here. For the bread flour portion of the recipe, I used their Glacier Peak Bread Flour, and for the whole wheat flour, I used their Sequoia All-Purpose Flour. Just know that you can really use any mix of whole wheat and all-purpose or bread flour here — it’s a dense, hearty bread so many flours will work. You need 2.75 cups flour total.
Salt: If you are using Morton Kosher Salt or fine sea salt, use half as much by volume or the same amount by weight.
- 180 grams (about 1.5 cups ) bread flour, see notes above
- 165 grams (about 1.25 cups ) whole wheat flour, see notes above
- 50 grams (about 1/2 cup ) rolled oats, plus more for sprinkling
- 44 grams (about 1/2 cup ) wheat germ
- 10 grams (about 2 teaspoons ) brown sugar
- 10 grams (about 2 teaspoons ) Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, see notes above
- 5 grams (about 1 teaspoon ) baking soda
- 1 egg
- 450 grams (about 1.75 cups ) buttermilk
- 28 grams ( 2 tablespoons ) melted butter
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Butter an 8.5×4.5 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to mix until you have a wet, sticky batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Using a wet hand, spread the batter out evenly in the pan. Sprinkle oats over the top to cover.
- Transfer to the oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out cleanly. If you have an instant-read thermometer, it should register roughly 205ºF when it’s done. Do be sure to test the loaf before removing it from the oven — once I removed it without testing, and upon cutting it, I found a pocket of un-cooked dough in the center. Err on the side of over-baking — it’s forgiving!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American, Irish
Description
Made with whole wheat flour, wheat germ, and rolled oats, this simple Irish brown bread comes together in no time and yields a hearty, super-tasty loaf, perfect for toasting and slathering with good Irish butter. Break out the Kerrygold!
Recipe adapted from reader Michael — thank you!
Notes:
For best results, use a scale to measure.
Flour: I’m using 100% Cairnspring Mills stone-milled flour here. For the bread flour portion of the recipe, I used their Glacier Peak Bread Flour, and for the whole wheat flour, I used their Sequoia All-Purpose Flour. Just know that you can really use any mix of whole wheat and all-purpose or bread flour here — it’s a dense, hearty bread so many flours will work. You need 2.75 cups flour total.
Salt: If you are using Morton Kosher Salt or fine sea salt, use half as much by volume or the same amount by weight.
- 180 grams (about 1.5 cups ) bread flour, see notes above
- 165 grams (about 1.25 cups ) whole wheat flour, see notes above
- 50 grams (about 1/2 cup ) rolled oats, plus more for sprinkling
- 44 grams (about 1/2 cup ) wheat germ
- 10 grams (about 2 teaspoons ) brown sugar
- 10 grams (about 2 teaspoons ) Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, see notes above
- 5 grams (about 1 teaspoon ) baking soda
- 1 egg
- 450 grams (about 1.75 cups ) buttermilk
- 28 grams ( 2 tablespoons ) melted butter
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Butter an 8.5×4.5 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to mix until you have a wet, sticky batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Using a wet hand, spread the batter out evenly in the pan. Sprinkle oats over the top to cover.
- Transfer to the oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out cleanly. If you have an instant-read thermometer, it should register roughly 205ºF when it’s done. Do be sure to test the loaf before removing it from the oven — once I removed it without testing, and upon cutting it, I found a pocket of un-cooked dough in the center. Err on the side of over-baking — it’s forgiving!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American, Irish
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2024/03/09/simple-irish-brown-bread/
Looking to make crispy potatoes for a crowd? Try this method: parboil the potatoes first; then slice and roast them at high heat with olive oil and salt. Showered with herbs, they’re irresistible, and best of all they reheat well should you need to get prep work done ahead of time.
For years, I made fingerling potatoes one and only one way : parboiled; then pan-seared and showered with rosemary and thyme. I learned the method, which produces well-seasoned, perfectly textured potatoes every time, while working at Fork, where the line cooks would crisp up the sliced, par-boiled potatoes stovetop to order.
And this is where that method shines: small-batch cooking.
But what if you want to make crispy fingerling potatoes for a crowd? Pan-searing large batches of potatoes is not ideal — crowding the pan prevents the potatoes from browning properly, and standing at the stovetop monitoring batch after batch takes time.
A few months ago, I experimented with making a larger batch of potatoes, replacing the pan-sear with a high-heat roast. After slicing 3 pounds of cooled, parboiled fingerling potatoes, I spread them onto a sheetpan, dressed them with olive oil and salt, then placed them in the oven at 550ºF convection roast for 20 minutes.
It worked beautifully: the potatoes emerged crisp but tender with golden surfaces all around. Showered with fresh rosemary and chives, they were irresistible, and they looked pretty to boot.
If you are thinking about serving potatoes for a holiday gathering this weekend but aren’t quite up for making a gratin or a mash , I think you’ll find this recipe a godsend. The parboiled potatoes can be made hours or days ahead of time, and the fully cooked potatoes reheat beautifully, too. See the notes in the recipe on how to do so.
Crispy Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Step by Step
This recipe is written for 3 pounds of potatoes but you can easily scale it up or down depending on your needs. It seems as though stores typically sell fingerlings in 1.5 lb bags. Whole Foods:
Hannafords. I actually prefer these non-multicolored fingerling potatoes, and I prefer small-ish fingerling potatoes, which are hard to find outside of farmer’s markets.
Place the potatoes in a pot with a few sprigs of rosemary and thyme and a lot of salt:
Cover with cold water and place on the stovetop:
Bring to a simmer:
Then immediately turn off the heat and let the potatoes cool completely in the water. It will take about an hour for the potatoes to cool but you can do this hours ahead of time or even a full day ahead of time.
Once cool, drain the potatoes:
Cut the potatoes on the bias into half-inch pieces:
Transfer to a sheet pan and dress with olive oil and kosher salt. Transfer to the oven for 15-20 minutes at 550ºF convection roast (if possible).
Meanwhile, gather some herbs:
Chop them finely:
Remove the potatoes from the oven…
… then add the herbs:
Use a spatula to release the potatoes from the pan and toss with the herbs:
Taste and adjust with more herbs to taste and more salt if necessary. Transfer to a serving platter.
Also works with other small potatoes. These are baby “golds”:
Description
This recipe is inspired by a method I learned while working at Fork in Philadelphia nearly 20 years ago. There, the parboiled potatoes were pan-seared to order. Here, they are roasted, which allows for large-batch cooking.
Notes:
- Scale the recipe up or down as needed.
- Parboil the potatoes hours or days ahead of time.
- To make the potatoes ahead: roast them as directed, then let them cool completely. Store in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat by spreading them onto a sheet pan and roasting them at 425ºF for 10 minutes or until heated through.
For the parboil:
- 3 pounds fingerling potatoes or other small potatoes
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- several sprigs of rosemary and thyme
For roasting:
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or half as much Morton or fine sea salt)
- 2 tablespoons minced rosemary or a mix of rosemary and thyme
- 1/4 cup finely chopped chives or a mix of chives and dill
- Place fingerlings in a pot. Add the salt and herbs. Fill with water to cover. Place on the stovetop and bring to a boil, then immediately turn off the heat. Let the potatoes cool completely in their liquid before proceeding. It should take about 1 hour for the potatoes to cool in the liquid.
- When you are ready to roast them, preheat your oven to 550ºF convection roast (if possible… otherwise preheat it to its hottest setting). Drain the potatoes. If your potatoes are small, slice them in half on the bias. Cut larger potatoes on the bias into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Transfer the potatoes to a sheet pan. Sprinkle evenly with the salt. Pour the olive oil over the top. Toss with your hands to coat the potatoes evenly then spread the potatoes into an even layer.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through if the potatoes are browning unevenly.
- Remove the pan from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Chop your herbs if you haven’t already, then shower them over the top. I like to use my long, offset spatula to release the potatoes from the pan and toss with the herbs. Transfer the potatoes to a serving platter and serve hot or at room temperature. See notes above for reheating.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop, Oven
- Cuisine: American
