Irish Oatmeal Brown Bread

Part of my French countryside dream involves waking up on Sunday mornings, donning an apron (if you’re in the “gifting your favorite blogger” mood, I’d like this one in blue, thanks), baking a fresh baguette or boule, slathering on freshly churned butter and homemade berry jam, and sipping a large mug of cafe au lait tea while I read my digital subscription to the Times.

Thus far, the biggest barrier to this dream: yeast grosses me out. Even though it’s an integral part of my some of my favorite things (namely, beer and bread), the idea of growing a fungus in my kitchen makes me shudder. When people ask me if I’ve made bread before, I give them the standard “oh you know, the kneading and the rises and I don’t have a bread thermometer and so I’ve never gotten around to it.” But let’s not lie – the only thing holding me back is my fear of yeast.

But then I found this bread. It uses whole wheat flour and ground oatmeal (though I missed this directive and instead used whole rolled oats) and soured milk and baking powder and baking soda and NO YEAST to create a shaggy loaf with a crisp crust and a soft interior. While the amount of salt in the recipe is a touch excessive, with a thick pat of sweet creamy butter, this bread is perfect.

Maybe this bread is a cop-out. I didn’t actually get over my fear of yeast. I didn’t grow a fungus, didn’t have to touch it or knead it or anything. I know if I want to live out my French countryside dream properly (after all, they don’t eat Irish bread in Brittany or Normandy), I’ll have to get over my fear of yeast very soon. I think I’ll start with the famed no-knead bread from Jim Lahey before moving on to the slightly more complicated baguette.

In the meantime, I’ll indulge my bread-baking fantasies with this delicious oatmeal brown bread.

Irish Oatmeal Brown Bread
Adapted very minimally from Kiss My Spatula

When I pulled my bread out of the oven, it passed the toothpick test but was a little moist for bread (think more of a quickbread consistency, which is what this actually is, rather than a true bread). I cut the round into quarters and let them air out a little, which created more of a bread-like feel and held up better to butter-spreading.

– 1-1/3 cups milk

– 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

– 3-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

– 1 teaspoon coarse salt*

– 1 teaspoon baking soda

– 1 teaspoon baking powder

– 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

– 1/2 cup rolled oats**

*The recipe calls for 2-1/2 teaspoons of salt, which everyone who ate the bread (and Milan, who also made the bread in San Fran) agreed was way too much. I think it’s safer to start with this amount.

**I misread the instructions, which called for ground oatmeal, and instead added whole rolled oats. They add an interesting textural element to the bread, so I heartily recommend this.

1) Mix the milk and vinegar in a small bowl and let stand until thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Congrats — you’ve just made homemade buttermilk!

2) In a large bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Cut in the butter, using a pastry blender or two knives, until the flour mixture resembles a coarse meal. Stir in the oats.

3) Pour in the milk mixture and stir until the dough forms a sticky mass (I had to add an extra tablespoon of milk in order to incorporate the dry ingredients). Gently knead the dough on a lightly floured surface 4-5 times, then pat it into a round loaf with a diameter of 6-7 inches.

4) Lightly dust the top of the loaf with flour. Cut an X into the top, about 3/4-inches deep and transfer to a lined baking sheet. Bake at 350˚F for 50-60 minutes, rotating halfway through. The finished loaf will be golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. Cool on a wire rack (cutting the loaf open and allowing it to dry out slightly helps improve its texture, in my opinion).