Bread-Bakers v100.n057.11

For Richard Walker who asked about recipes for Irish Brown Bread in BB
100-053.6.

I've come across this recipe from Delia Smith from around 1991, looking
through various cuttings.  She describes it as "a coarse Irish soda brad
with lots of character."  For those of you unfamiliar with the name, she's
the best selling cook-book author in the UK - that doesn't mean that I'm a
fan of her writing though!


Irish Oatmeal Bread (makes a 1lb loaf)

8oz (225g) stone-ground whole meal flour
3oz (75g) coarse oatmeal (pinhead)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon sale
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 (size 2) egg
1/2 pint (275ml) buttermilk

You'll need a 1 lb loaf tin, well greased and lightly dusted with flour.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 5, 375F, 190C

All you do is place the flour, oatmeal, sugar, salt and bicarbonate of soda
in a bowl and mix them well together.  Then whisk the egg into the
buttermilk and add that to the dry ingredients, mixing everything together
thoroughly.

The mixture will remain quite soft, so just place it in the tin and bake it
on the middle shelf of the oven for 50-60 minutes, or until the loaf sods
hollow when you tap it on the underneath.

Leave it on a wire rack to cool, and serve very fresh in crusty slices,
spread with Irish butter.

This bread is also lovely fresh from the oven on a cold winter weekend and
served for tea with butter and homemade jam.