Just to be perfectly clear – this is not a political endorsement! It just so happened that we were trying to sightsee the bulk of the Wild Atlantic Way on the west coast of Ireland all in one day. We started in Ennis, County Clare in the wee hours of the morning, and drove on through Ballycullinan, then stops in Poulnabrone, the Burren, photo ops in Gleninagh and Derreen, and the Cliffs of Moher (just to name a few), and finally Bunratty to tour the castle and park, in time to make a 7 pm train reservation in Limerick bound for Muckross in County Killarney. Were we ambitious? You betcha. Did we do it? Yes, but we were wise and reserved ourselves an excellent lunch for sustenance in Doonbeg – at, yes, Trump’s Bar at Trump International Golf Links and Hotel. It was worth the small detour. Everything was fresh and locally sourced and just plain delicious, starting with their signature Homemade Brown Soda Bread.
It was so good, I knew I’d have to at least try to replicate it at home. It was moist, not overly sweet, nutty and oatey, and just perfect just with Irish butter. I started with the recipe for Simple Irish Brown(-ish) Bread from http://www.alexandracooks.com, substituting and adding a few extras to make it more like the bread we had at Trump’s Bar. And according to all who tried it, this recipe was a repeater. (You can find Alexandra Stafford’s original recipe here.)
Bain sult as!
Irish Brown Bread
Ingredients
- 180 gms bread flour about 1½ cups
- 165 gms whole wheat flour about 1¼ cups
- 75 gms rolled oats about ½ c. for bread dough and ¼ c. to sprinkle on top
- 44 gms wheat germ
- 20 gms wheat bran
- 20 gms flaxseed meal
- 10 gms brown sugar about 2 t.
- 2-3 gms Morton kosher salt about ½ t.
- 5 gms baking soda about 1 t.
- 1 large egg
- 550 gms buttermilk about 2 c.
- 28 gms butter melted
- 70 gms pistachios shelled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° F. Butter an 8½" x 4½" loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, oats, wheat germ and bran, flaxseed, brown sugar, salt and baking soda.
- Stir the pistachios into the mixed dry ingredients.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together. The batter will be wet and very sticky.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, spread it evenly, and sprinkle the batter with the reserved oats (about ¼ c.)
- Bake the loaf in the preheated oven for about 35 mins. or so, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out cleanly.
- Cool loaf on a rack before removing from the pan and slicing.
Notes
If you have an instant-read thermometer, Alexandra Stafford of http://www.alexandracooks.com recommends that you use it; the loaf should register 205 F when it is fully baked. It does take the stress away from wondering if you “read” your toothpick right.
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