Brown Bread

September 2012

I understand Ireland is not known for fine dining and cuisine, but my time there proved to be some of the most fulfilling in terms of culinary indulgence.

Warm bowls of seafood chowder, succulent pints of Guinness, sharp cheddar cheeses, juicy 3 am kebabs (mind out of the gutter, now), my semester abroad was full of culinary delight, and I didn’t have to travel to Paris every weekend to find it.   Rather than worrying about whether or not my afternoon snack had the correct balance of proteins and carbs to pull me through to dinner, I shamelessly purchased Cadbury bars and washed them down with cups of strong tea. I scoured the aisles of Marks and Spencer for dessert-like yogurts, and unique biscuit varieties. I regular popped into Butler's to try a new truffle, and a cup of rich, creamy hot chocolate.  I followed up treadmill sessions at the gym with a pint and bag of crisps at the student bar next door. 

The food I long for most from my time abroad, however, is the bread---the brown bread to be precise. There are very few things as delightful as a warm slice of Irish brown bread, slathered in Irish butter and jam.  I didn’t bake any myself while I was over there, because why would I? McCambridge’s Brown Bread was everywhere, and probably the best store-bought bread outside an actual bakery I have ever had in my life.

No matter what I ate in Ireland, chowder, full breakfast, a curry, if there was brown bread and butter served along with it, it received my undivided attention. The morning I left to fly home, in the midst of tears and one of the most horrendous hangovers of my life, I experienced temporary euphoria when I realized they sold packages of McCambridge’s in duty free, and I bought every last one in the shop.  I  bought myself a few more weeks of heaven to ease myself back into American life.

If you are ever in Galway, I strongly encourage you to take a day trip out to Kylmore Abbey.  I got my brown bread recipe from a cookbook that is a collection from the kitchen at Kylemore Abbey.  I actually purchased it at a gift shop on the Aran Islands, but when we visited the Abbey and ate there, it was scrumptious. Those nuns sure know what they are doing in the kitchen.

The trick to make this extra tasty is to add a handful or two of whatever cereal you have around. I usually have some sort of muesli and cornflake combination, which works perfectly, but I think most fruit and nut/crunchy cereals would work. I don’t think if I would throw in Lucky Charms and expect the same results. I got this tip from Mary, a B&B owner, who made the best brown bread I had. 

I made the brown bread this last time as a part of a full Irish (or English) breakfast I made at home on weekend in honor of the Olympics.  I would like to make it more often just because.

Kylemore Abbey Traditional Irish Brown Bread

Ingredients

450g 1 lb 4 cups white flour

450g 1lb 4 cups wholemeal flour (whole wheat)

2 tsp bread soda

2 tsp salt

2 oz margarine

4 cup wheat bran

1oz wheat germ

20z oatmeal (old fashioned, not quick cooking)

2 eggs (sometimes I throw in an extra)

2 tbsp golden syrup (molasses works)

1 litre buttermilk

Method

Sieve the white flour wholemeal flour bread soda and salt into a bowl Add to the bowl any wholemeal flour that has not gone through the sieve Rub in the margarine Add the bran wheat germ and oatmeal and mix well Beat the eggs golden syrup and the buttermilk together add the liquid to the dry ingredients and mix to a loose dough Put into two 900g 2 lb well greased loaf tins pans and bake in a preheated warm oven 170c 325 gas 3 for 55 mins