brown bread

Let's start off talking about how easy this bread is to make. If you are intimidated by the prospect of baking bread at home, this is the recipe for you. I guess it is technically a quick bread.. it dosn't use any yeast(baking soda is the leavening agent).
This bread is good along side soup, or olive oil, or even with butter and honey!
I baked in a standard loaf pan but I think it might work out fine in a bread machine too. You might cut a cross in the top of the free form mold before baking - I haven't tried it this way yet, but it kinda puffs up weird otherwise, and I think this might help.

I love this bread, it isn't yeasty or super bready in texture like a yeast leavened bread, but it has its own personality - dense, hearty, crusty yet still moist. It would be delicious with a bowl of hot, hearty soup, as the base for a sandwich, or simply warm with a nice slathering of salty butter.

Brown Bread Recipe

3 cups whole wheat bread flour
1 cup white flour
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4+ cups buttermilk
2 ounces butter
1 egg

Melt the butter over gentle heat.
In a medium-sized bowl lightly beat the egg and then gradually add the buttermilk all the while stirring to incorporate the egg. Beat in the butter.
In another bowl sift and mix the dry ingredients as best you can (not really a prob if you can't find the coarse flour), and then stir in the buttermilk mixture. If you are using a baking tin the mixture should be on the wetter side. If your dough is too dry, mix in small splashes of buttermilk until it is the right consistency.
Cook at 400F for 50 minutes on the middle rack. You want to hear a sort of hollow sound when you knock on the bottom of the loaf. Resist the urge to take the bread out too soon, or the middle of the bread won't be cooked through.
Makes 1 loaf.