Brown Soda Bread

Finding the correct balance of these two is important to the flavor and the texture of Brown Soda Bread. The whole-wheat flour lends the bread its characteristic wheaty flavor, and the white flour prevents it from getting dense and crumbly. The extra bran and germ in whole-wheat products means less gluten formation, and gluten is what gives bread its chew and elastic structure. All-purpose flour has enough gluten to give the bread tender texture without overpowering the wheaty flavor of the whole-wheat flour.

Raw wheat germ and toasted wheat germ are both the embryo of the wheat berry, but they do not have the same robust flavor. Make sure you use toasted wheat germ, which is sold in jars at the supermarket and lends the bread a deeper flavor than untoasted does.

Patting the dough into an even round--in this case, as close to a 7-inch round as you can get--will give the bread a chance to bake evenly. You don’t want the edges of your bread to be overcooked by the time the center hits the desired temperature.

Cutting a cross in the top of the dough before baking does more than just serve as decoration. These openings in the dough allow the bread to rise without splitting. Make sure your serrated knife is sharp; you want the knife to cut—not drag—through the dough.