Homemade Brown Bread
Updated: Jun 15
I love this brown bread recipe because it's perfect for open sandwiches or any other type of sandwich. The bread is soft, moist, and has a lovely nutty flavour. I've made it many times, and it always comes out perfectly. If you want a healthy and delicious bread recipe, you should definitely try this one! Personally, I think there's nothing better than a freshly baked loaf of homemade soda bread. It's just so comforting and homey. However, creating a tasty brown bread recipe without lots of butter and sugar has been a challenge. After 15 attempts, I finally got it right, and now it's a recipe I'll come back to time and time again. It's both delicious and healthy, with no excess sugar or saturated fat, so I know it will be a staple in my kitchen for years to come.
Download the recipe as a pdf below for easy saving and printing

Ingredients:
Dry ingredients:
210g wholemeal flour
120g plain flour
20g chopped nuts, + extra for sprinkling on top (walnuts work well)
20g pumpkin seeds, + extra for sprinkling on top
15g oat bran
15g wheat germ
1 tsp bread soda
1/2 tsp salt
Wet ingredients:
1 egg
320mls buttermilk
30mls vegetable oil (the oil makes the bread light and spongy)
1 tbsp honey
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius or gas mark 4.
Lightly oil a loaf tin or use a tin liner.
Sieve the plain flour, bread soda and salt into a bowl. Sifting introduces air making the bread more spongy. If you can, also sieve in the wholemeal flour. However, if the wholemeal flour is coarse, it won't fit through the sieve (don't worry, add it in then).
Add the oat bran, wheat germ, nuts and seeds. These ingredients give the bread more texture and nutrition.
Whisk together the wet ingredients (oil, honey, buttermilk, egg) in another bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Avoid over-mixing.
Pour into the prepared loaf tin.
Sprinkle with more pumpkin seeds, walnuts and a drizzle of honey.
Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and well risen.
Wrap the bread in a clean tea towel to cool when it comes out of the oven. This keeps the crust nice and soft.
And enjoy!!
Let me know if you make this recipe. I put a lot of time and effort into this one so I really hope you enjoy it.
Maria is a registered dietitian in Ireland and Bermuda. She is passionate about making diet and nutrition education accessible to all. We hope you enjoy these recipes, and please reach out and let us know if you make them. Dietetic appointments and services are available online; email info@marialuceyrd.com. Corporate wellness and health promotion services are available online in Cork, Kerry and Dublin.