Boston Brown Soda Bread

From the blog For Love of the Table

185 g. (1 1/2 c.) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling

36 g. (2/3 c.) wheat bran

12 g. (2 T.) toasted wheat germ

66 g. (1/2 c.) whole-wheat flour

67 g. (1/2 c.) stone-ground cornmeal

1 1/4 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

2 oz. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

70 g. (1/2 c.) currants

242 g. (1 c.) plain (unsweetened) whole milk yogurt

108 g. (1/3 c.) molasses

In a large bowl whisk together the first seven ingredients. Add the butter and toss to coat with flour. With fingertips rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the currants and toss to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt and molasses. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid. Using a rubber spatula, mix by scraping down the outside of the bowl and drawing the spatula into the center. Repeat this motion, rotating the bowl after each pass until the dough is moistened evenly and has come together. There will still be flour visible in and on the dough, but there shouldn't be any loose in the bottom of the bowl. The dough should feel quite soft when pressed...almost too soft.

Scrape the dough onto a floured counter and sprinkle lightly with additional flour. Knead briefly, adding more flour if necessary and using a bench scraper to prevent sticking (dough should remain soft and a bit sticky), just until the dough comes together into a ball. This should take less than a minute.

Place the ball on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with flour. Pat the ball of dough out into a 7-inch round. Sprinkle the dough with additional flour and with fingertips spread lightly over the round. With a sharp knife, cut a shallow (about 1/2-inch deep) X in the top of the loaf.

Bake the bread in the middle of a preheated 400° oven until browned, firm (but still springy) to the touch—about 30 to 40 minutes (an instant read thermometer inserted into the center should read about 195° to 200°). Cool the loaf on a rack for at least an hour before slicing.

Notes:

I use a cushion-air insulated baking sheet for this loaf. The strong bottom heat in my oven overbrowns the bottom of the loaf when I use a standard baking sheet. If you have the same problem with your oven, but don't have any insulated sheets, simply stack two sheets on top of each other.
If you have access to it, you should use Irish-style wholemeal flour instead of my mixture of all-purpose, wheat bran, wheat germ and American whole wheat (the first four ingredients in the recipe). This style of flour produces a beautiful loaf. You can purchase this kind of flour from King Arthur. If you use Irish wholemeal flour, use 300 grams total (2 1/2 cups).

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As published on forloveofthetable.com