• 2½ cups Wholemeal Flour
• 1½ cups Irish white flour or unbleached flour
• ½ cup Wheat germ
• 2 teaspoon Honey
• ½ teaspoon Bread soda
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• 3 teaspoons Butter, at room temperature
• 1 Large egg
• 2 cups Buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400ºF (Do not start until the oven is hot.)

Method

Spread the wheat germ on a baking tray and place in the hot oven for 3-5 minutes until it is lightly toasted. In the meantime mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk together the egg, oil, honey and about ¾ of the milk.

When the wheat germ is done, leave it for about 2-3 minutes to cool a little then mix it in with the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into small pieces and with the tips of your fingers rub it into the flour.

Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the milk mix. Quickly and bring the flour in from the edges and mix with the milk, until all the ingredients come together into a soft slightly wet dough. It should not be overly sloppy, you should feel you could pick it up without it running through your fingers, but it should be soft enough that it sinks slowly down and takes on the shape of the bowl. If it is too dry add a little more buttermilk. There is no need to knead this dough.

Put into a 9″ x 5″ loaf tin, the inside of which has been smeared with a little butter or oil. Place in the oven. Bake for 50 minutes. The bread should be nicely browned, have a good crust and sound hollow when you tap it. If it seems a little underdone, put it back in for 10 minutes.

Allow the bread to cool in the loaf tin before turning it out.

This bread keeps for a few days, and is much easier to slice thinly if you wrap it in aluminum foil and keep it until the next day.