Oatmeal-Walnut Soda Bread
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour soaking and 30 minutes cooling
Yield
Yields 1 loaf
Ingredients
2 ½ cups rolled oats, divided1 ¾ cups buttermilk 2 cups bleached all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface½ cup cake flour ½ cup stone-ground whole wheat flour ¼ cup brown sugar 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar 1 ½ teaspoons table salt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted1 cup walnuts, toasted in a pan over medium heat, stirring, until just fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes
Instructions
- Soak 2 cups rolled oats in buttermilk for 1 hour. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, remaining 1/2 cup rolled oats, and salt in large bowl. Work softened butter into dry ingredients with fork or fingertips until texture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add buttermilk-soaked oats and toasted walnuts and stir with a fork just until dough begins to come together. Turn out onto flour-coated work surface; knead until dough just becomes cohesive and bumpy, 12 to 14 turns. (Do not knead until dough is smooth, or bread will be tough.)
- Pat dough into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches high; place on greased or parchment-lined baking sheet or in cast-iron pot, if using. Place the loaf on a cookie sheet and cut a cross shape into the top.
- Bake until golden brown and a skewer inserted into center of loaf comes out clean or internal temperature reaches 190 degrees, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter; cool to room temperature, 30 to 40 minutes.
Time
1½ hours, plus 1 hour soaking and 30 minutes coolingYield
Yields 1 loafIngredients
2 ½ cups rolled oats, divided
1 ¾ cups buttermilk
2 cups bleached all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
½ cup cake flour
½ cup stone-ground whole wheat flour
¼ cup brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 ½ teaspoons table salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 cup walnuts, toasted in a pan over medium heat, stirring, until just fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
2 ½ cups rolled oats, divided
1 ¾ cups buttermilk
2 cups bleached all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
½ cup cake flour
½ cup stone-ground whole wheat flour
¼ cup brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 ½ teaspoons table salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 cup walnuts, toasted in a pan over medium heat, stirring, until just fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
2 ½ cups rolled oats, divided
1 ¾ cups buttermilk
2 cups bleached all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
½ cup cake flour
½ cup stone-ground whole wheat flour
¼ cup brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 ½ teaspoons table salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 cup walnuts, toasted in a pan over medium heat, stirring, until just fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
When developing our Irish soda bread recipe, our first tests focused on flour. A loaf made with all-purpose flour produced a doughy, heavy bread with a thick crust. To soften the crumb, we added some cake flour to the mix, and this made a difference. With only the four basic ingredients of flour, buttermilk, baking soda, and salt, our soda bread recipe was lacking in flavor and still a little tough; we turned to sugar and butter. The sugar added flavor without making the bread sweet and the butter softened the dough just enough with out making it overly rich.
Instructions
- Soak 2 cups rolled oats in buttermilk for 1 hour. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, remaining 1/2 cup rolled oats, and salt in large bowl. Work softened butter into dry ingredients with fork or fingertips until texture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add buttermilk-soaked oats and toasted walnuts and stir with a fork just until dough begins to come together. Turn out onto flour-coated work surface; knead until dough just becomes cohesive and bumpy, 12 to 14 turns. (Do not knead until dough is smooth, or bread will be tough.)
- Pat dough into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches high; place on greased or parchment-lined baking sheet or in cast-iron pot, if using. Place the loaf on a cookie sheet and cut a cross shape into the top.
- Bake until golden brown and a skewer inserted into center of loaf comes out clean or internal temperature reaches 190 degrees, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter; cool to room temperature, 30 to 40 minutes.
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