Perfectly Moist Irish Wheaten Bread

Made it for a friend from NI - he hasn't tried it yet but it seems fairly dry. *shrug*

I liked this. At first bite, I wasn't sure what to think. I have never made an Irish bread. It sort of tasted like a beer bread, but then it wasn't quite sweet like one. It was more like a giant buttery and crunchy biscuit. I loved the crunchy outer coating and the inside was nice and soft. Later, I am going to try to cut each 1/4 or wedge into about 5 slices using my bread knife and guide. Unless one has a toaster oven, and could lay the slices flat, I am not sure how this would be toasted though. It might be easier after refrigerating. This is an extremely filling type bread. I will probably attempt it again, but more for something like St. Patrick Day. I found another recipe on here, basically the same, but fits in a 9x5 loaf pan for everyday. I flattened this to the size I wanted it for slicing, before baking. Note, though, it will puff up a little but it will widen to about double the size it went in the oven! Unlike some recipes I did follow this near exact with the good reviews. Only change was subbing salted butter for margarine, kneading directly in the bowl, and baking on parchment. It did take the full hour to bake.

Best bread ever! When this came out off the oven, I ignored the part about waiting for it to cool down. The crust is crispy and thick and the inside is moist and delicious. The bread is crubly, and the bottom is very hard, but sooo good! I only used 2 Tbsp of butter, and after reducing the temperature baked for 20 minutes. It came out a perfect, golden brown. *Update: I accidentally forgot the 3/4 c. whole wheat flour! I also put in slightly less than 1/4 c. oil, and still only 2 Tbsp. butter. However, the bread was still perfect and moist! I had to put it in a round cake pan because the dough was more like a batter. I did cook it for less time-about 40 min.

Best bread ever! When this came out off the oven, I ignored the part about waiting for it to cool down. The crust is crispy and thick and the inside is moist and delicious. The bread is crubly, and the bottom is very hard, but sooo good! I only used 2 Tbsp of butter, and after reducing the temperature baked for 20 minutes. It came out a perfect, golden brown. *Update: I accidentally forgot the 3/4 c. whole wheat flour! I also put in slightly less than 1/4 c. oil, and still only 2 Tbsp. butter. However, the bread was still perfect and moist! I had to put it in a round cake pan because the dough was more like a batter. I did cook it for less time-about 40 min.

Very very happy with the results. It came out perfect just like the submitter said it would. This bread has a wonderful hearty texture and natural nuttyness from the whole wheat. As suggested by another reviewer I used only 2 T. butter and 1/8 c. oil also only 1 tsp. salt and no sugar with outstanding results. It smelled amazing while it baked and tasted delicious after it cooled a bit and the next day toasted. This recipe is a winner! ** Update ** I have made this bread more times than any other recipe on this site. I have added varying combinations of seeds, nuts, and dried fruits (be creative) mix seeds, nuts, and/or dried fruits into the dry ingredients. This recipe is adaptable as long as you stay with the original amounts of flours, b. soda and buttermilk. This recipe deserves more than 5 stars!!

Excellent recipe! As a native Belfast man I can recommend this as perfect Wheaten bread. Texture and consistency just right! Didn't quite see the point of brushing with buttermilk or sprinkling with sugar prior to baking but it did no harm anyway. There is absolutely no need to bake this within a pan and certainly this is something I have never heard of or come across before! I formed the cake round onto a lightly floured Pizza baking stone. Again, cutting the pre-baked bread with a finger is new to me and does not quite give the quartered effect achievable by knife. Just make sure to cut no more than 1/3 to 1/2 way through to give the splendid quartering or 'flowering' effect desired on all wheaten or soda breads. I used Olive Oil in lieu of vegetable and butter instead of margarine. Buttermilk is not usually in one's pantry so you can add a small amount of vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk to substitute for buttermilk. Dry mix can be purchased. The mixture stays easily on a pizza stone for baking. This ensures the bread 'free-forms' as it should without using a spray buttered pan. I have uploaded two photos. Photo #7 shows the consistency of the pre-baked bread and #8 shows the finished product. Serve with Irish smoked salmon. UPDATE: 17th Mar 2011 I deleted some info to include this... Reviewers have mentioned the bread as being "too crumbly". Today I added 1 egg to the mixture and found it to be "tighter". See Photo #10 for the texture after egg addition.