Wheaten Bread

Ireland has never had a strong tradition of yeast bread making. Baking was done in the home, usually over an open fire on a griddle. The addition of baking soda as a leavening agent has always been very popular in Ireland, it is quick, effective and it produced a much more consistent result than yeast did. Breads like soda bread, potato bread and wheaten breads are a staple of the Irish diet. Wheaten bread is heartier than most yeast breads and has always been used to add substance to all Traditional Irish meals, it pairs very well with soups, especially seafood chowder, stews of all kinds and it is always served with local seafood salads and smoked salmon, Which we have some of the best in the world.
It also makes outstanding toast smoothered with local Irish butter or topped with slices of Irish cheedar cheese and sliced onion, as I foundly remeber as a child.
If you have never tried to make bread before, this is a perfect introduction. It is very straight forward and quick to make, so do give it a go, you'll never buy store bought again!!!

Ingredients;

170g wholemeal flour

85g self raising flour

55g oatmeal

55g bran

½tsp baking soda

28g caster sugar

½tsp salt

85g unsalted butter, softened

350ml buttermilk

Method;

Preheat the oven to 180c.

In a bowl large enough to hold all of the ingredients, place all of the dry ingredients. Mix together well.

Rub in the softened butter to incorporate. Slowly add all of the buttermilk mixing by hand as you go. Making sure that all of the dry ingredients are mixed into a wet dough.

It is best to make the wheaten by hand and not in a mixing machine, this way the gluten in the flour will not be work too much and it will leave the finished bread light and crumbly.

Butter a loaf tin well and dust lightly with wholemeal flour.

Spoon the mix into the loaf tin and bake in a pre heat oven for 40-45mins.

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.