Flour Needed for Irish Wholewheat Bread (edited - was Coarse Flour...)
I'm a Canadian that used to live in Ireland. I miss Irish Brown Bread. I sometimes buy Odlum's Brown Bread Mix imported by a British food specialty shop. It seems crazy to buy imported flour when I live in one of the largest wheat producing countries in the world. I live in Mississauga, just west of Toronto, Canada.
EDIT: After much futzing about online, I found the bread I used to buy -- McCambridges Wholewheat Stoneground Soda Bread -- see pic.
So, new question -- What's a good recipe for something similar including what kind of flour do I need? All the other ingredients for Irish breads seem pretty straightforward.
Now maybe, I can do better than grocerystore bought bread, but that bread is better than a lot of bakery bread I have had here -- I loved it.
Thanks for everyone's help.
Have you tried Rogers No Additives Wholewheat Flour? I bought it at Safeway. I recently sifted the bran out of this flour and was amazed at how much bran there was in the sifter.
Yes, I'll second Dani3ll3's comment. I buy Roger's Whole Wheat flour at Costco (though they don't always carry it), along with their Silver Star bread flour.
Thanks you two -- sounds like I was looking for the wrong thing and that I need a soft flour.
Hi
When making "Irish Brown Bread" you need to use a soft flour similiar to making scones Bread Flour doesn't make good soda bread I am from Ireland but live South West Scotland I can send you a good recipe if you need one
Happy Baking
Liz
It's been years, and what I once remembered well is now fuzzy. This was just regular grocery store bread in a way, but it was a small rectangular loaf thinly sliced. I am thinking about half the height of a traditional sandwich loaf. If I remember correctly, the kind of thing you might serve with smoked salmon. It was very dense, had a quite nutty flavour and was a bit crumbly. That's just wholewheat Irish soda (or Wheaten) bread right?
What I bought in Canada was Odlum's Irish Brown Bread Mix.
http://www.abitofhome.ca/odlums-irish-brown-bread-mix-2kg.html
It's recipe was for round loaves. The flour seemed very coarse to our regular wholewheat flour here -- it had lots of bran flecks in it. That's why I thought I needed a coarse flour. Somewhere I must have seen a recipe because I never would have come up with red wheat on my own. However, I know that's why the Irish used soda as a rising agent because they had soft flour. Oops.
Anyway, there is no shortage of recipes online, but there seem so many variations for what I am betting was made in a pretty basic way by most folks. I would welcome a traditional recipe.
Man, I miss cheap amazing bread from the grocery store and deli quality sandwiches from corner stores (newsagents).
I would delete the above reply if I could because I have updated my original question. Your advice is still welcome though!
Try Grain Process Enterprise in Scarborough.
Matt
They're based just outside of London. They might have what you're looking for.. I'm not sure if their "red hard" is what you're looking for.. best to email them.. Everything I've bought has had a mill date just a week or two before I've received it. They drop it to your door via a delivery guy.. I live midtown Toronto. Good luck..
http://www.arvaflourmill.com/?show=products
Thanks - I think I was looking for the wrong thing. I have edited my post. Not sure what I need at this point. However, I will keep Avra in mind when I get some feedback from my new info.
Hello,
Chiming in more than a year late because I, too, am concerned about being about to find great flour for real Irish soda bread.
Where did you find the McCambridge?
And if you are still searching for the right recipe, I am in love with the one from Farine:
http://www.farine-mc.com/2017/02/brown-irish-soda-bread.html
I have been using the Odlum's Extra Coarse which I had to mail-order.
Cheers!
I got a very nice, coarse ground, whole wheat from KingArthur.com. Called Irish Style Flour. It makes a lovely Irish soda bread and also whole wheat bread (+white).