Irish Brown Bread With Smoked Salmon Food

IRISH BROWN BREAD WITH SMOKED SALMON

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Whisk together flours, oats, wheat germ, baking soda, salt, and caraway seeds in a large bowl. Blend in 3/4 stick cold butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk and stir until dough is evenly moistened. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface, dusting with flour to prevent sticking, 1 minute (dough should remain soft and slightly sticky). Shape dough into a ball.
• Pat out dough on a lightly floured baking sheet into a 7-inch round. Dust dough with flour and spread lightly over round with your fingertips. Cut a 4- to 5-inch X (1/2inch deep) in top of dough.
• Bake in middle of oven until bread sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on a rack 2 hours before slicing.
• Make canapés with bread, softened butter, salmon, chives, and pepper to taste.

SMOKED SALMON ON IRISH SODA BREAD WITH CHIVE BUTTER

Steps:

• Slice the soda bread into thin slices, about 1/4-inch, and cut each slice into a rough 2-inch square until you have 16 pieces. Wrap the remaining bread in plastic wrap and store in a cool dry place. Mix the butter and chives together and spread a small amount onto each square. Top with a small fold of salmon and garnish with a sprig of fresh dill.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Put the oatmeal into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Pour into a bowl and add the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, raisins and caraway seeds. Stir well to combine. Pour the buttermilk in and stir quickly until well combined. Shape the dough into a round about 6 inches in diameter and put onto a baking sheet. Place into the top half of the oven and bake 30 to 40 minutes, until lightly brown on top. When tapped, the bread will give off a firm, hollow sound. Remove from the oven and let cool.

IRISH SMOKED SALMON ON BROWN BREAD CROSTINI WITH HARD-COOKED EGG AIOLI

Steps:

• For the hard-cooked egg aioli: Place the eggs in a single layer in a straight-sided sauce pan, and cover completely with water. Bring to a boil, and then remove from the heat and cover tightly with a lid, 15 minutes.
• Immediately shock the eggs in an ice bath. When the eggs are cool enough to handle, gently peel off the shells and finely chop.
• Stir together the mayonnaise, dill, horseradish, mustard and capers until combined. Fold in the eggs, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
• For assembly: Slice the bread into 1/2-inch slices, and then cut each slice lengthwise into 3 or 4 pieces to create 35 to 40 crostini.
• Top each crostini with a slice of salmon and a dollop of the aioli, and garnish with dill fronds.

IRISH-STYLE BROWN BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together both flours, baking soda, and salt. Pour in buttermilk and stir until just combined, then knead in bowl two or three times, until all of flour has been incorporated and a shaggy dough forms.
• Form dough into a 6-inch disk. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. With a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut into 6 wedges, leaving them in place.
• Bake, rotating sheet halfway through, until bread is firm and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack set over a baking sheet; let cool slightly. Serve warm or room temperature. (Bread is best the day it's made.)