Several autumns ago, I spent a week at an equestrian center in rural Ireland. At every meal we were served thin slices of the most delicious, almost nutty-tasting, whole wheat soda bread, called simply “brown bread.” It was made daily by a wonderful baker and cook named Nuala. She was happy to share the recipe, but warned that she baked in quantity and used metrics. I was willing to convert all that and scale the recipe.
We sat by a blazing fire one evening and she began telling me how to make it. “First,” she said, “take nine handfuls of porridge oats.”
“Wait,” I said. Our hands were about the same size. “Do you mean greedy handfuls or polite?”
“Somewhere in between.”
Some measurments were in dessert spoons; a dessert spoon is is what we call a soup spoon or tablespoon in a set of flatware and it measures one standard tablespoon. The milk was measured in pints, and it wasn’t till I was back in my tiny New York kitchen, trying to convert and scale, that I remembered their pints are 20 ounces, not 16. It took much longer to come up with a usable recipe than I anticipated, but I finally worked out a formula. I don’t think Nuala would mind that I now call it my brown bread. This is more akin to a Northern Ireland loaf, and since we were just a stone’s throw from the border, the influence is understandable.
About soda breads
They’re so prevalent in Ireland that baking soda is called bread soda. What Americans consider to be soda bread is not traditional at all. Traditional soda bread has only four ingredients: flour, salt, buttermilk and bread soda. That’s it. No raisins, no sugar and it stales quickly. Most Americans aren’t crazy about it.
Quick, light handling is the secret to a good soda bread. Some people have the touch. Some never aquire it. Loaves fresh from the oven are wonderful. Slather on some butter, forget about the calories and enjoy it!
Ella’s Irish Brown Soda Bread
14 ounces (3-1/2 C.) wholemeal/whole wheat flour *
1/4 cup porridge oats **
1 TB sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 TB baking soda
2 cups (16 oz) whole milk
* Some supermarkets carry Irish wholemeal flour in the International aisle. If unavailable, King Arthur’s Irish Style Flour (Useful Links page) is a fine substitute. American whole wheat flour can be used, but it won’t work quite as well or taste the same.
** by “porridge oats” I mean pinhead oats such as McCann’s regular Irish oatmeal. American rolled oats, in any variety, will not work
Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 500F/260C.
Grease or spray a 9″ loaf pan and set aside.
Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add milk and mix well, working quickly. The mixture will be a sticky, somewhat stiff batter, not a dough.
Transfer to the loaf pan, smooth out the top and bake at 500/260 for 10 minutes, then lower heat to 375F/190C/Gas 5 and bake another 30-35 minutes.
Let cool in pan 5 – 10 minutes then remove from the pan and let cool on a rack. Cut into thin slices and cut each slice horizontally, so slices are about the size of Melba toast.
