Killian's Irish Brown Bread - Erin

This bread is a little bit of Irish heaven. Substantial, crusty, grainy and surprisingly addictive, this is a delicious whole grain bread that uses baking soda rather than yeast for its rise. Slice and eat freshly baked or toasted with lots of butter; preferably Kerrygold Irish butter and Beef and Guinness  Irish Stew while dreaming of beautiful, green Ireland. 

Adapted from the Irish cookbook, “The Eden Cookbook” –a wonderful restaurant where we ate in County Meath. 

what you'll need:

1-3/4 cup coarse-ground whole wheat flour (graham flour*)

1-3/4 cup bread flour

2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup wheat bran

1/4 cup wheat germ

generous 1/8 cup steel-cut oatmeal plus extra for topping(aka pinhead oatmeal or Irish steel cut oats)

1 Tbsp. oil (Eden uses safflower)

2 to 2-1/2 cups buttermilk**

*Hodgson’s Mill brand graham flour that is made in Illinois seems to be the only type with the proper texture. It's available sometimes in local stores or by mail order.

**If you don't have buttermilk, substitute sour milk. In a large measuring cup pour 2 ½ Tbsp. vinegar, then fill to 2½ cup mark with milk. Allow to sit for a few minutes before using.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a large loaf pan (8 X 4” or so). 

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl, making a well in the center. Pour in the oil and most of the buttermilk (not all yet!), and stir to combine into a fairly sticky dough, adding more buttermilk as necessary. Put into loaf pan, and smooth it out a bit to make it level. Sprinkle with the extra oats. Bake for 50-60 minutes until nicely golden brown, and sounds hollow when tapped. Turn out of pan to cool. 

*Hodgson’s Mill brand graham flour that is made in Illinois seems to be the only type with the proper texture. It's available sometimes in local stores or by mail order.

**To substitute sour milk for buttermilk, in a large measuring cup, pour in 2 ½ Tbsp. vinegar, then fill to 2½ cup mark with milk. Allow to sit for a few minutes before using.