Food with Passion: Christmas health loaf brown bread

This has been my go-to Brown Bread loaf that I make every year for Christmas. I make two loaves two days before Christmas and use them to serve up my smoked salmon and Chicken liver pate starter bites on Christmas Day. I’m not a fan of a big sit down starter on Christmas day, there is already so much to do!

Ingredients:

Brown Bread Health loaf (Recipe makes two loaves)

450g wholemeal flour 65g wheat germ (extra for dusting)

65g wheat bran

65g plain flour

225g pinhead oatmeal

2 teaspoons of soft light-brown sugar

2 teaspoons of bicarb/bread soda

1 litre of buttermilk

Topping:

2 teaspoons of wheat germ
2 teaspoons of sesame seeds

 

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 230° Celsius / 450F / Gas mark 8.
2. Put all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
3. Stir in the buttermilk and combine – this will make a very moist dough.
4. Grease two loaf tins and dust with some wheat germ and divide the dough between the two tins – this will prevent them from sticking to your tins.
5. Sprinkle some wheat germ and sesame seeds on top of both loaves and pop into the oven.
6. Bake for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 130°/ 250f / ½ gas mark and bake for an hour.
7. When the loaves are baked remove from the oven and allow to cool in their tins before turning them out to cool completely.
8. On Christmas morning slice the brown bread. Depending on how many you have for Christmas dinner (I usually use a full loaf) slice each slice in half.

This recipe can be combined with JP’s starter ideas for a Christmas treat. Read about his starters and bread toppers HERE.