Irish Brown Bread

If you can't get to Ireland to savour their wonderful Brown Bread, this is the best recipe I've found using American whole wheat flour:

1 3/4 c all purpose flour
1 3/4 c whole wheat flour
3 T toasted wheat bran (you can get this at the Co-op in Bozeman)
3 T toasted wheat germ (you can get this at the Co-op in Bozeman)
2 T old-fashioned oats (sometimes I use 3T)
2 T packed dark brown sugar
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 T (1/4 stick) of chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 c buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Butter a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan.  Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl; mix well.  Add the butter; rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine meal.  (Takes about 5 minutes.)  Stir in enough buttermilk to form a soft dough.  Transfer the dough to the prepared loaf pan.

Bake until the bread is dark brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.  Turn the bread out of the pan and cool right side up on a rack. 

The bread freezes well when wrapped in cellophane and then aluminum foil. 

Submitted by Debra McNeill