In Ireland, I bet there are as many Irish Brown Bread recipes as there are Irish kitchens. And of course, every Mam and Gran thinks theirs is the best. Some have Guinness, some don’t. Some have an egg, some don’t. One thing they all have is wholemeal flour and Treacle (or molasses) I’ve tweaked my friend Anne’s Seedy Irish Brown Bread recipe to fit my tastes. You can add and subtract to your tastes as you like.
I love, love oats, and this bread is loaded with two kinds. Porridge oats, which we call rolled oats, the same you make oatmeal with, and pinhead oats, which we call steel-cut oats. The steal-cuts add a bit of texture along with the seeds.
Feel free to substitute any other seeds you like. Anne also used chia and flaxseed. I use those in my Granola recipe, so wanted to leave them out. I added more pinhead and rolled oats and sesame seeds. Here’s what you need to make Seedy Irish Brown Bread.
- Wholemeal flour, recipe here since it can be hard to find
- Plain flour, aka all-purpose
- Rolled oats (not instant, please)
- Steel-cut oats
- Sunflower seeds
- Pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- Sesame seeds
- Baking soda and kosher salt
- One egg
- Molasses (the Irish use Treacle, which is basically the same thing, but for some reason, I really love the flavor of real Treacle, I think it’s the gorgeous packaging 🙂
- and Buttermilk
Some type of Brown Bread comes with every bowl of soup, salad, or stew in pubs and restaurants in Ireland. Whether is a seedy loaf or plain, it’s pretty much the perfect meal.
Seedy Irish Brown Bread
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40-45
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
- Category: Breads
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Irish
Description
Seedy Irish Brown Bread tastes best the day you bake it, but if you don’t finish the first day, it’s some of the best toast you’ve ever had! And be sure to serve with ‘lashings’ of butter (to quote my friend Anne in Galway).
Ingredients
- 8 oz. wholemeal flour (2 cups | 250g) (Anne’s note: use the best flour you can)
- 1/2 cup (2 oz.|60g) plain white flour
- 1 cup (3 oz.|90g) porridge oats (regular rolled oats, not instant) I love Sunrise Flour Mill
- 1/3 cup (1 oz.|30g) pinhead oats (steel-cut oats)
- 1/3 cup (1 oz.|40g) sunflower seeds
- 1/3 cup (1 oz.|40g) pumpkin seeds (also called pepitas)
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
- 1 teaspoon bread soda (baking soda)
- 1 teaspoon (rounded) kosher salt (affiliate link)*
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tablespoon (50g) molasses (aka: Treacle)
- 1 1/2–2 cups (12 oz.|250-300ml) buttermilk approx.**
Instructions
Simple to make:
Preheat your oven to 350°. Spray, butter, or line with parchment paper (affiliate link), a 5×9” loaf tin.
In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture.
Mix together the egg, molasses, and buttermilk. Add to dry mixture. Use your hand (like a claw) to combine, do not overbeat. Consistency should be thick and flowing or drop consistency, not dry. Add a little more buttermilk if needed.
Tip the mixture into a loaf tin and press in some oats and seeds onto the top. Bake for about 40-45 minutes.
It is properly baked when you hear a hollow sound on the bottom of the bread when tapped with a finger. Hint: if you want it to crisp up a bit, remove it from the tin and place it back in the oven for 5-7 minutes. Let cool on a wire cooling rack.
Enjoy with lashings of Irish butter!
Notes
*Use 3/4 teaspoon if using table salt
**The dough needs to be flowing, not a dry dough)
Is this Irish Choir Director, Anne Barry’s wonderful bread from Lake Forrest? I miss her and this bread takes me right to her lovely kitchen.
Hi Rachael, this is a recipe from my friend Anne in Galway. She and her husband make goats cheese. I also have an Irish Food tour with her (GráBia). We make a bread like this in her home kitchen on our tour.
Excellent recipe, perfect every time. I didn’t grow up with this style of brown bread, but I have loved having it on our last few trips to visit family in Galway. Never imagined I could make it myself at home and have it taste every bit as good. Thank you!