Kids In The Kitchen: Charlotte's Irish Brown Bread

Charlotte and I had fun the week of St. Patrick's Day, coming up with ways to add Irish foods into our meals. She took the lead on a batch of Irish Brown Bread.
Brown bread (which I think is the same as soda bread), is a really easy way to have bread ready in a flash. It's a quick bread (leavened with baking soda instead of yeast) so you just stir it together and then pop it in the oven. It's a perfect bread for kids to help make.

Charlotte's perfecting her measuring techniques.

She's gotten really good at cracking eggs.

Look at that concentration and steady hands.

Bread ready in under an hour! Can't beat that.

Jon and Evan topped their bread with butter and homemade peach jam. Charlotte and I are butter-only gals. We had scrambled eggs with our bread for our weeknight dinner. Breakfast for dinner is a favorite around here.

Irish Brown Bread

4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or traditional whole wheat)

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 cups coconut milk*

2 tsp. vinegar*

1 large egg

1/4 cup olive oil

*or use 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk instead of coconut milk and vinegar

Preheat oven to 375*. Grease 2 quart baking dish or 8"-9" cast iron skillet.

In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, stir together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir ONLY until combined.

Scoop the thick batter into the prepared pan and spread around evenly.

Bake the bread for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve the bread warm (though it's still good the next day warmed slightly in the microwave and spread with butter).