This is an Irish bread that actually gets it's name from The Royal Hibernian Hotel in Dublin. Brown soda bread is the national bread of Ireland, and Bernard Clayton said that this is the best one around. It's a lot like Scottish soda bread (the two are extremely similar) in that it uses buttermilk and baking soda to give it some flavor and texture, and to help with the leavening. The reason this loaf stands out apparently though is from the butter and eggs that it uses, which the Scottish one doesn't. When I made the Scottish Buttermilk bread I messed it up because the ingredients were still cold when I used them. This time however, I did not mess up, and it came out great!
Just like the Scottish Buttermilk bread, this recipe is basically mix all the ingredients together and bake it. There isn't any yeast so you don't need to let it rise and consequently, you don't need to knead it. The X mark on the middle allows the dough to open up and gain some much needed beauty. It's not a pretty loaf, that's for sure, but it tastes pretty good. It's a little dry, but goes great with some butter or cheese. The crust it where it's at though. This bread has a phenomenal crust. It's got great texture and flavor.
I have to say that this bread turned out a lot better than its Scottish counterpart. It was super easy (as most quick breads are) and came out of the oven a lot better than I was expecting. I was waiting for it come out just like the Scottish Buttermilk bread, but luckily, I learned my lesson from last time. Overall I would say that this is a super solid bread.
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