Irish Brown Soda Bread

       A quick and very easy Irish bread with no finnicky yeast involved to scare you off!  It's also an easier option when you don't have yeast on hand or don't want to wait for the dough to rise.  The leavening agent in soda breads is, as you may have guessed, baking soda! This brown version, made with brown things such as whole wheat flour, brown sugar, wheat bran and wheat germ, is hearty and healthy and is much tastier than the more common white soda bread. It has a robust, nutty flavor. But be careful how much you eat at one sitting as your system may not be used to to all the fiber coming through!

      This recipe came to me by way of my daughter who loves all things healthy - she is a true foodie and an excellent cook, but always burns the wheat germ at least once in the process of making this bread so watch it constantly as it toasts. I always slather my bread with an abundance of Irish butter when my daughter's back is turned - I'm not sure she doesn't do the same whern I'm not looking!

Brown Soda Bread:
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons toasted wheat bran
3 tablespoons toasted wheat germ
2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
2 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter,

         cut into pieces
2 cups (about) buttermilk

        -Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Combine first 8 ingredients in large bowl; mix well. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles fine meal. Stir in enough buttermilk to form soft, well-mixed dough. 

       -Transfer dough to prepared loaf pan. Bake until bread is dark brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Turn bread out onto rack. Turn right side up and cool on rack.

      -Serve with Irish or unsalted butter, jams and

honey.

                         Dry ingredients include whole wheat

                                 flour, germ and bran as well as oatmeal.

Mix dry ingredients with buttermilk until

all dry ingredients are incorporated.

Don't forget the butter!

PERSNICKETY  NOTES:

       **This bread is often preferred at room temperature and not

warm out of the oven like a lot of breads.  It makes wonderful, crunchy toast too.