Made with whole wheat flour, wheat germ, and rolled oats, this simple Irish brown bread comes together in no time and yields a hearty, super-tasty loaf, perfect for toasting and slathering with good Irish butter. Break out the Kerrygold!

Irish brown bread, just baked.

If you Google “brown bread,” search results pull recipes ranging from black-hued breads baked in cans to light-hued brioche-like loaves baked in Pullman pans.

This traditional Irish brown recipe includes rolled oats and comes from Reader Michael in Ireland. Unlike Irish soda bread, which is made from a thick dough that can be formed before going in the oven, Irish brown bread is made with a very wet dough and requires a loaf pan or other mold. Typically, it’s made with a good amount of whole wheat flour and wheat germ.

I love this bread for many reasons, but especially for its speed and simplicity: the batter can be mixed together before the oven preheats; it smells like a savory pancake as it bakes; and it yields a super flavorful, hearty loaf perfect for slicing, toasting, and slathering with good Irish butter.

My children love this bread with their eggs for breakfast, and when it’s freshly baked, they love packing buttered slices in their lunch boxes. If you love soda bread, you will love this delicious take on the Irish quick bread. Find step-by-step instructions below.

Irish Brown Bread, Step by Step

Gather your ingredients: As noted above, I’m using a mix of Cairnspring Mills flour, but you can use any stone-milled or whole-wheat flour you like.

Ingredients for Irish brown bread on the countertop.

Measure them out, if you wish. For best results, use a scale to measure.

Ingredients for Irish brown bread, measured out.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl:

Dry ingredients in a bowl for Irish brown bread.

And whisk them together:

Dry ingredients whisked together for Irish brown bread.

Whisk together the wet ingredients:

The wet ingredients for Irish brown bread whisked together.

Then add them to the dry:

Adding the wet to the dry ingredients for Irish brown bread.

Stir until you have a very sticky dough/batter:

Irish brown bread batter mixed together.

Transfer it to a buttered 8.5×4.4-inch loaf pan:

Irish brown bread batter in a buttered loaf pan.

Sprinkle with oats:

Irish brown bread ready for the oven.

Then transfer to the oven:

Irish brown bread in the oven.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes:

Just baked Irish brown bread, still in the pan on a cooling rack.
Just baked Irish brown bread.

Let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing:

Irish brown bread baked and sliced.
Irish brown bread, sliced on a board.

While I wouldn’t use this bread for sandwiches, I couldn’t recommend it more for toast:

Irish brown bread, toasted.

Break out the Kerrygold!

Irish brown bread, toasted and slathered with Kerrygold butter.

Enjoy.

Irish brown bread toasted and buttered.
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Irish brown bread, just baked.

Simple Irish Brown(-ish) Bread

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Description

Made with whole wheat flour, wheat germ, and rolled oats, this simple Irish brown bread comes together in no time and yields a hearty, super-tasty loaf, perfect for toasting and slathering with good Irish butter. Break out the Kerrygold!

Recipe adapted from reader Michael — thank you! 

Notes: 

For best results, use a scale to measure.

Flour: I’m using 100% Cairnspring Mills stone-milled flour here. For the bread flour portion of the recipe, I used their Glacier Peak Bread Flour, and for the whole wheat flour, I used their Sequoia All-Purpose Flour. Just know that you can really use any mix of whole wheat and all-purpose or bread flour here — it’s a dense, hearty bread so many flours will work. You need 2.75 cups flour total. 

Salt: If you are using Morton Kosher Salt or fine sea salt, use half as much by volume or the same amount by weight. 

Ingredients

  • 180 grams (about 1.5 cups) bread flour, see notes above
  • 165 grams (about 1.25 cups) whole wheat flour, see notes above
  • 50 grams (about 1/2 cup) rolled oats, plus more for sprinkling
  • 44 grams (about 1/2 cup) wheat germ
  • 10 grams (about 2 teaspoons) brown sugar
  • 10 grams (about 2 teaspoons) Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, see notes above
  • 5 grams (about 1 teaspoon) baking soda
  • 1 egg
  • 450 grams (about 1.75 cups) buttermilk
  • 28 grams (2 tablespoons) melted butter

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Butter an 8.5×4.5 inch loaf pan.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter.
  4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to mix until you have a wet, sticky batter. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan. Using a wet hand, spread the batter out evenly in the pan. Sprinkle oats over the top to cover.
  5. Transfer to the oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out cleanly. If you have an instant-read thermometer, it should register roughly 205ºF when it’s done. Do be sure to test the loaf before removing it from the oven — once I removed it without testing, and upon cutting it, I found a pocket of un-cooked dough in the center. Err on the side of over-baking — it’s forgiving! 
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American, Irish