Irish Brown Bread & Review of Mockmill Grain Mill

Note: I was sent the Mockmill Grain Mill for review. All opinions are mine alone.

I have dabbled in bread-making for this blog before. I’ve made beer bread, sourdough bread, soda bread, and even gluten-free bread in the past.

Since I returned from my honeymoon in Ireland a few weeks ago, I have been craving Irish Brown Bread like crazy. Served typically with breakfast, Irish brown bread is made with a coarse whole wheat flour, resulting in a hearty bread different than anything I can easily find here in the U.S.

The difference is really in the flour. To get the right consistency, you’d need to purchase a wholemeal flour, sometimes labeled as “Irish-Style,” which can be somewhat difficult to find (although it is available online.)

So when I was offered the chance to try out the Mockmill, a grain mill attachment for the KitchenAid Mixer, I jumped at the chance.  I can make my OWN Irish-Style flour!

Besides my very specific reason for wanting to mill my own flour, there are a bunch of other benefits to using a grain mill. Grinding from whole wheat berries at home means that the bran and germ stay in your flour. A bunch of the “good stuff” is found in the bran and germ: fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants. However, the germ is removed from commercial flour because it reduces its shelf life; the oil in germ can turn rancid, so home milled flour should be used in 1-2 weeks, or stored in the freezer.

The Mockmill, designed by Wolfgang Mock, is nicely compact. (As a city dweller, I very much appreciate this.) I love that it attaches right to my stand mixer; it’s really simple to set up and begin using right away.

You adjust the coarseness of the grind by twisting the front of the mill. The mill uses self-sharpening ceramic-bonded corundum grinding stones, which can produce a very fine flour if needed.

The Mockmill grinds flour directly into the mixing bowl, really convenient if you’re using it immediately like I am!

Cleaning the Mockmill is also a breeze; the mill can be separated easily and rinsed to clean any minimal residue left from milling.

Mockmill is offering I Can Cook That readers a really sweet deal, available until August 31: $80 off (that’s over 30% off!) two different package options through this link if you use the code icancookthat. 

The packages come with everything you need to begin milling at home: the Mockmill Grain Milling Attachment for Stand Mixers,  a variety of whole grain berries to get you started, plus “Flour Power” by Marleeta Basey, a comprehensive introduction to the benefits of home milling! Be sure to check them out here.

Note: the price listed is the original price. Add the code icancookthat at checkout to receive $80 off. The sets of books, grains, and Mockmills are being especially made for this promotion so delivery times may vary.

To test out the mill (and make me some oh so yummy brown bread,) I decided to start with a relatively simple version of Irish bread, a yeasted version from the Ballymaloe House in County Cork, Ireland. This version of their recipe comes from David Lebovitz, and is super easy to make.

So let’s test this mill out!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups freshly ground whole-wheat flour (~2 cups red wheat berries)
• 1/2 cup all purpose white flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 cups tepid water
• 1 tablespoon dark molasses
• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

 

Before using the Mockmill for the first time, grind a cup or two of rice (not parboiled). Start with 1/2 cup on the middle setting, and then adjust it as fine as it will go for the rest. This is to remove any manufacturing residue that may be left over (you may see some black specks). Discard this flour. Now you’re ready!

For this recipe, I needed 3 cups of whole wheat flour, so I ground 2 cups of red wheat berries. Grind on a relatively coarse setting. If you prefer it a bit more fine, go for it. Your bread may turn out differently than mine though.

The Mockmill grinds right into the bowl of the stand mixer. I removed the flour from the stand mixer to measure it out and make sure I had 3 cups, then added it back to the mixer (I had a touch more than 3 cups).

Add the all purpose flour and the salt to the bowl, mixing to combine.

Pour 1/2 cup of tepid water into a small bowl and stir in the molasses.

Add the dry active yeast, stirring.

Let stand until it starts to foam on top, about 10 minutes.

 

Pour the yeast mixture and the remaining 1.5 cups water into the flour mixture and stir until a batter is formed. Let stand 10 minutes. It will have the consistency of oatmeal.

Spray a nonstick 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray and cut a piece of parchment or wax paper to line the bottom of the pan. Spray the paper as well.

Add the dough to the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.

 

Drape a kitchen towel over the top and let rise in a warm place until the dough reaches the top of the pan, about 20 minutes (this can vary, check on it every ~5 minutes to see how its progressing).

Before the dough has almost reached the top of the pan, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. When the dough reaches the top of the pan, add the pan to the oven for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, decrease the temperature to 400 degrees F. Remove the bread from the oven and run a knife around the outside to release it from the pan. Tip the loaf out of the pan, remove the parchment paper, and place upside down directly on the baking rack. Let bake another 15 minutes.

 

The bread is ready when you tap the bottom and it sound hollow. If using an instant-read thermometer, the temperature should read 190ºF. Let the bread cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Mmmm. I was so happy with how this turned out! The true test was having my dad try a piece; he’s a true connoisseur of Irish brown bread. He went back for seconds. Success!

The brown bread has a nice chewy texture, perfect with a smear of butter or jam. It’s also great sopping up a runny egg!

The bread should last 3-4 days just wrapped in a kitchen towel. It also freezes nicely.

I loved how easy the Mockmill was to use! I can’t wait to try out different grains to really see what this awesome tool can do. If you want to begin milling at home yourself, don’t forget to check out the packages while they last, and use the code icancookthat to get $80 off!