Irish Brown Bread

Just a few more eats to show you, and a recipe for our favorite Irish baked good- brown bread.


Ice cream from Murphy's in Killarney- dark chocolate + cookie for Nick, sea salt + honeycomb for me. Sea salt was a surprise hit for me- love that salty sweetness.



Tea at the Old Courthouse Cafe in Inishmore. Love when they give you your own pot!



Trout, shepherd's pie, and potatoes + french fries from the Curragh in Killarney.


Bailey's ice cream from Jo's in Kinsale.

Seafood pancake and fried fish from the White House in Kinsale.


Whiskey tasting from Jameson Distillery in Dublin.



Beef and cheese pastie from Hanley's Cornish Pasties.



Seafood chowder and traditional Irish coddle from Oliver St. John Gogarty's in Dublin.

Flapjack!!

And now for the main event...brown bread. It's served alongside most dishes and the beauty of the brown bread lies in its simplicity. It's like the Irish people- cozy, welcoming, and inherently comforting.

Though we don't have the exactly right kind of flour needed for true brown bread, this works as a lovely substitute. I modeled it off of the recipe that Nick's Irish cousin Mary uses- she makes a fresh loaf every day and we got to devour more than our fair share when we stayed with her and her husband Pat in Galway.





Irish Brown Bread

Makes 2 small loaves

4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flax meal
1/2 cup steel cut oats
Scant 3 cups almond milk
3 tblsp vinegar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
*Note- you could substitute buttermilk for the almond milk and vinegar. Or use regular cow's milk and vinegar to it.

Preheat oven to 425.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, flax, oats, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine well.

In a large measuring cup, pour the almond milk and vinegar. Stir well and let stand 5-10 minutes. This is going to look kind of funky, but don't freak out.

Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined. The resulting dough is pretty wet and sticky. Freaking out is still unnecessary.

Grease two loaf pans and divide dough evenly between the two. Use your hands to gently shape the loaves.

Put both pans into the oven and bake 30-35 minutes. Test loaves by pulling them out of the oven and flipping over into an oven mitt. Tap the bottom. (ha.) It should should hollow.

Cool at least 30 minutes before cutting.

Irish Soda Bread

With St. Patrick's day rapidly approaching, it's time to get into the spirit. Now, I'm about as Irish as green beer, but I have been introduced to the joys of corned beef & cabbage and other Emerald Isle delicacies by my part Irish in-laws. My father-in-law gave me his Irish Soda bread recipe which is originally from a King Arthur flour advertisement circa 1978. They still had the original newspaper!

Cast of characters: Unbleached all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, raisins, buttermilk, canola oil, eggs



Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl.

Add the raisins and stir to combine.

Measure out 1 1/2 cups buttermilk.


Drop an egg on the floor. Cry a little bit while you clean it up because this is the third time you've done that this week.


Whisk the egg and canola oil into the buttermilk.


Create a well in the dry ingredients.


Add the buttermilk mixture and stir to combine.




Shape into one loaf.


Then divide into two small loaves and place on an oiled baking sheet.


Bake until perfectly golden. The outside crust is crispy and the inside dough is soft and dotted with plump raisins. Enjoy warm with some butter and a cup of Irish tea.

Irish Soda Bread

4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup raisins
1 egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Add the raisins and stir. In a measuring cup, whisk the buttermilk, canola oil, and egg together. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk mixture. Stir to combine. Mixture will be a bit shaggy. Form two small loaves and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake 40 minutes or until golden brown and completely done.