Friday, April 25, 2008

Wheaten Bread

Hey everyone, I'm excited to share this wonderful recipe with you for one of the most delicious breads from my Irish heritage, 'Wheaten bread'

Wheaten is a hearty, moist and full flavored bread loved throughout Ireland, and eaten at various times of the day. I love it toasted for breakfast with Irish Kerrygold butter (sold in Publix, by the way), clover honey and a perfect cup of tea. You should also try it freshly baked then sliced, buttered, and topped with wild caught smoked salmon, fresh cracked black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice for lunch. At the end of the day, try it with some preserve and a de-caf Irish tea to unwind....it's also perfect with hearty soups!

This bread is also great for your body because of the oatmeal and the stone ground flour that still has the bran and germ in it. Omega-rich flax seeds give a nutty addition to the crust, along with lots of flavor!

Here is the recipe for you to try:


Judith's Irish Wheaten Bread:
  • 1 1/2 cups stone ground whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup quick cooking oats (plus 2 tsp to sprinkle on top)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1 cup buttermilk (plus 2 Tbsp)
  • 1 egg (beaten)
  • 1 tsp flax seeds (to sprinkle on top)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8x4 size loaf pan. Measure dry ingredients in to a large bowl and rub in cold butter with finger tips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Using a large metal spoon, quickly fold in buttermilk, beaten egg and honey. Pour into loaf pan, and sprinkle with a little oatmeal and whole flax seeds. Bake for 50 minutes or until the center comes out clean when inserted with a skewer.

Thursday, April 24, 2008


Welcome to my blog! 'The Irish Foodie!'....(at long last...)

It seems as if my friends have been begging me to get with the 'blogging' program for an absolute eternity now, and so, here I am...at very long last. 'An Irish girl in a blogging world'. (sounds like a song!)

As you will soon discover, my musings these days are focused on all things foodie and all things Irish (there's a shock!). I love to cook, I'm proud of my heritage and I enjoy living in the South, so, in this blog you will find creative ways in which I intertwine and blend those ingredients together into one big old gourmet stew...Irish-Southern fusion. Sounds weird, I know, but it works. Just keep coming back to check out my recipes and posts and you'll soon see!

Why, I'm even writing a book on the subject, entitled 'The Ulster Kitchen' and from time to time I will dip into that resource to bring tasty treats to all of you who are kind enough to grace my small corner of cyberspace land.

My cookbook started a few years back since I discovered that this 'fusion' thing works, and I have been marinating in my culinary roots whilst tasting the new found flavors of Southern cuisine ever since! My passion for food has even inspired me to teach Irish cooking classes and cater intimate events also where I can get to be with people, cook great food and have a lot of fun all at the same time. People and food, my enduring passions!

So, thanks for taking time to journey with me along this meandering road of foodie discovery!
Let's cook!