Adventures in brown bread

‘Adventures?’, you may be questioning. Well, sure: for a little loaf of bread, this one’s come a long way. I’ve posted a recipe for brown bread before - twice, in fact. The first was way back when the blog was brand-new - that one was “old-school” gluten-free, with egg and gums and far too many flours for what should be a quick and simple bread. Then, a few years later, I made a ‘simplified’ recipe which, although updated to be egg-free and gum-free, still has more ingredients than it really needs (and several of those key ingredients are rather out-of-place in a homestyle Irish recipe). 

I wanted to revisit this recipe yet again in a way that would better reflect the true character of this bread. Brown bread, at its heart, is a very simple food, traditionally comprised of little more than whole and white wheat flours, buttermilk, butter, and often some oats, oat flour, and/or oat bran for flavor and texture. This recipe is really rather more of an experiment than a fully polished recipe, but it’s an experiment certainly worth sharing. I’ve made several test loaves over the last few weeks, trying to see just how simple I could get it. As it turns out, the answer is pretty simple, and very different from those previous versions. Eventually, I settled on a combination of just oat, sorghum, and flaxseeds which come together for the right nutty-sweet grain taste. The rolled oats and flax meal are cooked together in a porridge that helps bind the loaf together. Is it perfect? Not quite - maybe I’m just being picky, but I think it’s a little too crumbly, and I’m also curious if it could be made even simpler still - so I’ll be sure to keep experimenting along these lines because brown bread is one of my favorite things. That said, this version is still definitely good enough to mix up a quick batch for dinner or tea! And it comes together quickly and easily enough to experiment with your own adventures with the formula, if you so wish. 

Brown Bread

This recipe makes quite a small loaf - if you double it, you may have to use your own judgment for the baking time.  

20 g rolled oats

20 g oat flour, divided (see method)

8 g golden flax meal

35 g pearled sorghum flour (see note in this post)

30 g sorghum flour

5 g oat bran (optional, but recommended for texture)

7 g (about 2 tsp) sugar

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

⅛ tsp salt

80 g milk, water, or a mixture of the two (I used a mixture)

14 g bean broth (also known as “aquafaba” - this helps as a binder and improves texture)

7 g (½ T) butter

60 g buttermilk, kefir, or thin yogurt (do not use greek yogurt - it is not sour enough)

Preheat the oven to 375ºF/190ºC. (Recommended: heat a baking stone or lidded dutch oven to bake the bread on/in.) Whisk the oats, 10 g of the oat flour, and the flax meal in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir in the bean broth and the milk/water and set aside to thicken slightly.

In another bowl, combine the remaining flours, bran, sugar, salt, soda, and baking powder. Cut the butter into this dry mix and lightly rub it in with your fingertips. 

Optional: dust loaf with oat flour for an interesting appearance.

Microwave the porridge mixture for around 1 minute, stirring several times - when you start, it will have a flax-gel consistency, but by the end of the cooking time, it should resemble cooked oatmeal. Beat this hot porridge in a mixer for several moments, then mix in about half the buttermilk, followed by the dry mix, then the remaining buttermilk. Shape the dough into a round loaf on a piece of parchment and smooth with water. Cut an “x” in the loaf just before baking to help it expand evenly.

Put the loaf on the hot baking stone or in the dutch oven and cover with an upturned bowl, upside-down roasting pan, or put a lid on the dutch oven; after 6 minutes, uncover the loaf. (Starting the baking in this covered, steamy environment helps the loaf expand better and form a good crust - but make sure to uncover it after the 6 minutes are up!) Bake for a total of 40-45 minutes, until the crust is firm but not too hard and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool before cutting.

Rock buns

Recently, in between test batches of soda bread, I thought of another lovely thing from the Irish bakery - one which I haven’t had in many years, not since pre-gluten-free: rock buns! In case you’ve never had one, they are a simple homey sort of pastry, crusty on the outside but a bit softer beneath, fluffier than a cookie but firmer and less flaky than a scone, and named (presumably) for their rough craggy appearance. The particulars of their appearance and even the formula are also pretty forgiving. Rock buns, then, are a natural candidate for something to easily make gluten-free. So much so, that when I had the thought to make them, I wondered why I’d never done them before. Almost immediately, the answer became clear.

Back when I first began creating my own recipes, I liked to aim especially for the most challenging and impressive things - gorgeous loaves with elegantly airy cross-sections and perfectly crackly crust; in short, things that, upon looking at them and tasting them, would make one think there’s no way it could be GF. Rock buns, on the other hand, look much the same whether they are made with wheat flour or some other kind: rough and plain, not much to look at. Most recipes for the buns include something to the effect of instructing the baker to put the dough on a baking sheet in “rough heaps.” My first several years of baking GF, I’d had quite enough of rough heaps, rock buns or no. 

But, as time has passed and gluten-free is no longer so commonly assumed to mean frumpy, lumpy baked goods, I’ve become much more OK with making such a humble treat. Sure, it’s plain-looking and a bit crumbly, but that’s how it’s meant to be, and it’s tasty just the way it is. All it needs is a cup of tea. 

Irish Rock Buns

Makes 12 buns

30 g oat flour

70 g sorghum flour, divided (see instructions), I recommend Nu Life Market 

70 g pearled sorghum flour (see Note below)

20 g almond flour

1 tsp double-acting baking powder (I use Bob’s Red Mill)

Scant ¼ tsp salt

Pinch of ginger powder (optional)

70 g butter

80 g sugar

70 g currants or raisins

75 g (about ⅓ cup) milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Note: Pearled sorghum flour is analogous to white rice flour, in that the outer part of the grain has been polished off before the inside is ground into flour. This flour has different textural and water-absorption properties to those of regular whole-grain sorghum flour. I tried this recipe with several combinations of whole sorghum flour, pearled sorghum flour, and/or potato starch; using half pearled sorghum and half potato starch produces buns that are whiter than these, which was the track I initially started on, but we liked the flavor of the 50/50 mix of whole and pearled sorghum (and no starch) that appears above. If you cannot get the pearled sorghum, I recommend using potato starch in its place, as I think using whole sorghum flour for all of it would give too much whole-grain flavor and texture for this sweet cake.

Combine the oat flour, 10 grams of the sorghum flour, and milk in a microwave-safe bowl and set aside. In another bowl, whisk the remaining flour, salt, and baking powder (and ginger if using). Cut the butter into small pieces and lightly rub it into this flour mixture with your fingertips until the mixture looks crumbly - it’s OK if there are some larger bits of butter. Then stir in the sugar followed by the currants/raisins. 

Microwave the milk mixture for 30-45 seconds until cooked stiff, stirring a couple times in the process. Put the hot mixture into the bowl of a mixer and beat to cool down a little, then beat in the egg. When these are well combined, add the dry mixture. Chill the dough for around 2 hours (this ensures all the flour is fully hydrated for best texture), then use a fork to scoop the dough onto a baking sheet - do not smooth them or shape them too much, simply plop the dough onto the sheet in 12 mounds. Bake at 400ºF/200ºC for 14-16 mins, until golden. 

Enjoy with hot tea! Leftovers will keep for days covered at room temperature, though they will become more cakey and lose their crusty outside.

Irish Oat Soda Bread - A traditionally gluten-free recipe

When I first delved into GF baking over 8 years ago, the ingredient list required for most bread recipes was rather formidable for someone baking in a tiny dorm kitchen shared with several other people. A few months in, I was thrilled to discover an authentic traditional Irish 100%-oat soda bread that, being traditional, didn’t require any special starches or binders. It’s remained one of my standbys ever since. (I've mentioned it briefly once before, but I honestly don’t know why I’ve never shared the recipe here in all this time! Silly me…)

Sorry, oat-intolerant folks, but there’s not exactly a substitute for this one: the original recipe consists of oat flakes, steel-cut oats, and oat bran, with no other grains or flours. There’s really nothing quite like it - the texture is distinctly nubbly and it’s somehow simultaneously dense yet springy, with a delightfully chewy crust. I’ve tweaked it a little over the years, replacing some of the oat flakes with oat flour to bind it a little better, and letting the dough rest overnight in the fridge before baking to hydrate the oats more fully and develop flavor (original recipe bakes 30 minutes after mixing). More recently I’ve enjoyed using a little sourdough starter in place of part of the buttermilk. Here I’ve added a pinch of yeast instead to contribute some of that same depth of flavor, since I know most people don’t have GF sourdough starter on hand. I also like baking it in a dutch oven - it makes the crust chewier.

The original recipe also makes twice this amount - I made it smaller so the individual wedges would be more scone-sized. If you want to double it to make the full loaf, use an 8” round pan or skillet.

Irish Oaten Bread

{Adapted from a recipe in The Irish Baking Book by Ruth Isabel Ross (1995) - see above for the changes I’ve made.}

Makes 6 scone-sized wedges

100 g steel-cut oats

75 g oat bran

40 g rolled oats

20 g oat flour [or you may use more rolled oats instead]

3 g (½ tsp) salt
1/2 tsp brown sugar

3 g (about ½ tsp) baking powder - I recommend Bob’s Red Mill

3 g (about ½ tsp) baking soda

300 g (about 1 ¼ cup) buttermilk -OR- 240 g kefir/yogurt plus 60 g water

Pinch of dry yeast (optional)

Combine all dry ingredients, including yeast if using. Mix in the wet ingredients until well combined and transfer to a buttered 6” round cake pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Next day, take the pan out of the fridge and preheat the oven to 400º F/200º C, with a dutch oven or other lidded baking dish large enough to hold the cake pan. Using a stiff spatula or knife, score the loaf into 6 wedges.

Put the pan inside the hot dutch oven and cover it - immediately lower the oven temp to 350º F/175º C, and bake covered for 8-10 minutes. Remove lid and continue baking for a total of 35-45 minutes - the center should appear set and no longer moist, and the edges should be nicely browned. Let it cool in the pan a few minutes, then turn it out on a cutting board. Let cool before serving. Serve with good butter and/or jam, marmalade, or honey.

Notes:

Make sure all oats/oat products are marked GF! Conventional oats are frequently contaminated with small amounts of wheat, barley, or rye due to grain processing procedures. Arrowhead Mills and Bob’s Red Mill both sell GF steel-cut oats; BRM sells GF oat bran; GF rolled oats are available from many brands including BRM and Trader Joe’s. Oat flour can be ground from rolled oats in a food processor or blender.

Brown Bread, Simplified

Hello again everyone! I know, I've been gone awhile. (Again.) I won't go into that now, though - this post will be a quick one. As you may have noticed, food-related sites in the past week or so have been filled with pictures of Irish-themed recipes, some authentic - lamb stew, scones and tea breads, colcannon - and others...well, not so much (green cupcakes, anyone?). And then, of course, there's soda bread. Many, many different types of bread get called "Irish soda bread." Some are more traditional than others, of course, but pretty much all of them are tasty in their own way. And, well, I wanted to contribute my personal favorite type to the mix - a hearty, homestyle brown bread, with a tender crumb and the pleasant flavor of buttermilk. Even the name is straightforward: "brown bread." Although I have posted a recipe for this type of bread before, this version is easier to make and has a simplified ingredients list. It's a pretty "forgiving" recipe as well - I've mentioned a few possible substitutions below. I've made it with a number of different flour combinations in the past and most have turned out fine, so don't be afraid to experiment if you don't have or can't use one of the flours called for. Whether you're looking for a last-minute bread to have with dinner, or simply looking for something that's lovely with butter or jam, give it a try! 

Brown Bread

makes 1 loaf

30 g buckwheat flour

30 g brown rice flour

30 g white rice flour

15 g potato flour (not starch)

15 g chestnut flour (if you can't find it, may substitute bean flour, oat flour, or extra buckwheat flour)

70 g potato starch

100 g tapioca starch

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

12 g unrefined sugar or brown sugar

8 g psyllium husks

3/8 tsp Pomona's citrus pectin

12 g cold butter

240 g buttermilk (or substitute, see note below)

1/2 tsp cream of tartar (if needed, see note below)

Optional, but recommended:

30 g rolled oats and/or 30 g steel-cut oats

Extra rolled oats for top of loaf

Method:

In a small bowl combine buckwheat, rice, potato, and chestnut flours with the psyllium, pectin, salt, and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture has uniform consistency. In another bowl combine starches, baking powder, and baking soda (and cream of tartar, if using) - set aside. 

Pour buttermilk into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, blend in the first flour mixture (and optional oats, if using) and let stand for ~20 minutes. Preheat oven to 205º C/400º F, with baking stone or cast-iron skillet on middle rack. (You can use a regular baking sheet, but I find having a heavy, heat-retaining baking surface helps the bread rise better and bake more evenly.) 

Once the oven is hot, blend starch mixture into the wet batter; it should form a soft but shapeable dough. If it still resembles a batter, add a spoonful of starch and/or rolled oats until it comes together (see note on buttermilk below). As soon as the dough comes together, dump/scrape it out of the bowl onto a floured surface or baking sheet and form it into a roughly circular shape; it will be soft and sticky, that's ok. You must work quickly now since the leavening is in the dough! (If you want oats on the crust like in my picture, pat them onto the loaf at this point.) Score an "x" across the top of the loaf and transfer it to the baking stone (or place baking sheet in oven). 

Bake for ~1 hour, until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Immediately after removing the bread from the oven, wrap it up in a dry tea towel to cool (this helps keep it moist) - let it cool for at least an hour. 

**Note**

- Buttermilk: most buttermilk in stores is stronger-tasting and thicker than old-fashioned buttermilk. It's essentially like thin, slightly salty yogurt - it's generally made as a separate product these days rather than the traditional liquid left over from making cultured butter. The modern kind can be identified by the ingredients, as it will often have thickeners, emulsifiers, and other stuff added; in my experience it doesn't always work the same in baking. If you can find old-fashioned buttermilk, go for it! If not, you may want to thin out plain yogurt with some milk until it is pourable consistency, or make your own "buttermilk" as follows: stir 30 g of yogurt into 210 g warm milk and let stand for a couple of hours until thickened slightly. If you use a substitute, though, it may not be sour/acidic enough to react with the baking soda completely - in that case you may want to add 1/2 tsp cream of tartar.

County Galway Cottage Pie

Okay, I know this is not bread. Not even remotely. But it does go in the oven, and it is traditional, simple, and most importantly, delicious. 

It also comes with a little bit of a story.

In the more rural parts of Ireland, many roads have significant stretches that are not lit at night. At. All. Combine this with the fact that further north along the western coast, all of the road markings change to Gaelic (if the road is even marked). So you may find yourself driving in the dark, across what seems to be - as near as you can tell in the dark - a huge rolling pasture with a single narrow path paved through it. (Well, part of it is paved anyway.) All you have to guide you is the reassurance that you can't have possibly taken a wrong turn, because this was the only road on the map.

So here we were, driving blindly forward towards the tiny, dim glow ahead. After a time we came to the town. (Which, much to our relief, was in fact the town we were trying to get to. This is no small feat when you have passed no signs of civilisation for the past hour!) And as we drove through this town, my mum spotted a restaurant that - surprisingly for such a late hour - appeared to still be open.

The inside of the restaurant was not what I'd anticipated. It was very quiet - there was no traditional session music like there would be in a pub, and there were actually only two other people in the place. It also was not homey or quaint like what I would expect in a small coastal town. I was sceptical, but it was really our only option for hot food. Also it was a seafood restaurant. They had to have something good. I ordered, as the menu called it, "baked cod," or something equally ambiguous.

When it was brought to the table, though, it was not just plain fish. It was a sort of pie, with mash potato on the top. And inside was...cream sauce? With fish? I was now very sceptical. I could not think of a single example where fish plus milk seemed like a good idea. But I took a bite, and my mind was changed completely. It was rich, and warming, and completely delicious. Here in this empty, unwelcoming restaurant, I had discovered a brand new comfort food that tasted like it could have come from a cottage kitchen.

And here is the recipe for you.

Cod Pie

(Note: This recipe makes a serving for one person. Measurements are approximate. Increase recipe for the number of individual pies you wish to make.)


For each pie you will need:

One small glass or ceramic baking dish (holds about a cup of volume)
One small cod fillet
One potato, sliced up but not peeled
Milk
Cream
Butter
Thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper

Method:

Heat the oven to 218 C/ 425 F. Place the potato into a pot, cover with cold salted water, and bring to a boil on high. Boil until tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the cod into small pieces and lay them in the baking dish. Pour a little milk and cream over until the fish is about half-covered - enough to thoroughly moisten and flavour the fish, but make sure it won't bubble over the edge. Add some fresh thyme and parsley, and generous amounts of salt and pepper.

Mash the potato with a knob of butter, a little cream, and milk, and season with salt and pepper. Spread the mash in a layer over the fish. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the potato begins to turn golden. Garnish with freshly snipped scallions, if desired.

Enjoy!

Irish Brown Bread

It's the middle of March, and that means Irish recipes are popping up everywhere - especially soda bread recipes. Most of these are for a mildly sweet, cake-like bread with raisins. However, soda bread in Ireland is not sweet, nor does it have fruit in it (and it certainly does not have green sugar over top of it, as I've seen in some American grocery stores)! Usually, Irish soda bread has a nubbly wholemeal texture, and is plain enough that it goes equally well with tea at breakfast or with a bowl of potato soup for supper.

This bread, known simply as "brown bread," is also ubiquitous in western Ireland. It can be found at the table of nearly any traditional restaurant or bed-and-breakfast. Because many families have their own way of making it, countless recipes for this bread exist - but they all are based on some very simple ingredients: wholemeal flour, oats, and buttermilk.

I created a gluten-free version by comparing a number of (wheaten) brown bread recipes. The result is a nutty, wholesome loaf; the oats give it a nice chewy texture. It's good with butter or jam, or even topped with some Irish cheese. Enjoy!

Irish Brown Bread

3/8 c Buckwheat flour

3/8 c Teff flour

1/4 c Soy flour

1/4 c Oat flour (be sure it's certified gluten-free)

1/4 c Potato starch

1/4 c Tapioca starch

2 T Garbanzo Bean flour

2 T Sorghum flour

2 T White Rice flour

2 T Expandex modified tapioca starch

1/2 c pin-head oats (again, be sure they are certified GF)

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

3/4 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp guar gum

1/4 tsp dough enhancer (optional)

1 ounce unsalted butter (Kerrygold is best)

1 1/4 c buttermilk

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 400° F/204° C. (If using a glass loaf pan, lower the temperature to 375° F/190° C.)

Whisk together the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingers. Gradually mix in the buttermilk. The dough will be wet but stiff; beat it until all the ingredients are thoroughly blended.

Spoon the dough into a buttered loaf pan. Smooth the top with a wet spatula. Make 3 - 4 diagonal slashes across the top of the loaf. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until it is lightly browned and the centre is no longer wet. Let it cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a tea towel. Wrap it up in the tea towel (this keeps the moisture in) and do not cut it until it has completely cooled.