Brown Butter Soda Bread

Makes 2 loaves

As I mourn the impending end of my beloved summer weather, my thoughts start to turn to homemade bread, stews and other cold weather dishes. I do love fall though so I am not quite ready for stew but I couldn't resist turning on my oven to make some soda bread.
Browning the butter gives the bread a nice, nutty flavour and it really is the easiest thing to whip up. No yeast, no resting, no rising, just dense, chewy, delicious bread that is best on the day you bake it but it makes great toast for the next day or two, not that you will have anything left to test that out.

Brown Butter Soda Bread

1/4 cup of unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 tbls sugar
1 tbls chopped fresh rosemary and more whole rosemary leaves for topping
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper plus a few more grinds for topping
*1 3/4 cup buttermilk

1 egg white, beaten with a splash of water

*if you don't have buttermilk, add 2 tbls of white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 3/4 cup milk, let it sit for ten minutes and it will start to curdle and BAM. Buttermilk.

Put your rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 375F
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and swirl around until it turns golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Put the flour, oats, sugar, rosemary, baking powder, baking soda, salt and a few grinds of black pepper in a large bowl and mix well with a whisk. Pour in the buttermilk and melted brown butter and stir together until the flour is moistened, using a silicone spatula or a fork. Don't over mix, just until it's all combined.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently - give it between 7 and 10 turns before dividing the dough in half. Shape each half into a ball , place on a parchment lined baking sheet and flatten slightly, making sure there is at least 4 or 5 inches between them. Brush the tops with the beaten egg white, sprinkle with a few grinds of black pepper, a pinch of coarse salt like kosher or other coarse sea salt and some rosemary leaves. Using a sharp knife, cut a deep X into the tops of each loaf.

Bake until deep, golden brown and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.