Northern Style Irish Wheaten Bread

Although I love fadge, wheaten bread comes a close second. But it has to be northern style.  What do I mean by northern style? Well, this is not your typical soda bread recipe – it’s packed with nutritious ingredients like whole wheat (also known as whole meal) flour and steel cut oats (known in Ireland as pinhead oats) is slightly sweet and and has a crumbly consistency unlike other soda breads I’ve made.  It’s so hearty that it makes a great breakfast all on its own but it’s also part of the traditional Ulster Fry. 

I often sprinkle steel cut oats on top of the batter for an extra crunch.

I buy my steel cut oats at Trader Joe’s. You can also order them from Bob’s Red Mill.

 The batter will be loose.  Be careful not to over mix it.

Many wheaten bread recipes don’t call for an egg, but since this one does and I’m happy with the result, I think I’ll stick with it.

I used three small loaf pans rather than the one called for in the recipe – thinking I might freeze some (yeah, right).   

Printable recipe

It’s tasty in so many ways – but I think my favorite way to eat wheaten bread is to toast it and spread some KerryGold butter on top…perfection.

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