Brown Butter Soda Bread

In my quest for the perfect soda bread, I was anxious to try this recipe (another one from Bon Appétit via Epicurious) - especially since I happen to grow rosemary in my herb garden. Although it is a far cry from traditional soda bread in terms of flavor, the texture of both crust and inside is very similar. I followed the advice of those who reviewed the recipe and just stirred the dough instead of kneading, which kept the loaves soft. Unfortunately my oven continues to be unruly in its heat distribution (I set it for about 360 and it was running at 400 the first time I checked the bread!), so this batch got a little dried out, but these free-form loaves are definitely worth repeating, especially if I'm going to have company over and would like some bread to serve with a spread of olive oil, cheeses, and fruit.

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (can use part wheat flour as well - I used about 1 1/2 cups wheat)
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper plus additional for topping
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
1 egg white, beaten to blend

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Stir butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until melted and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir flour, oats, sugar, rosemary, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in large bowl to blend. Pour buttermilk and melted browned butter over flour mixture; stir with fork until flour mixture is moistened.

Either 1) turn dough out onto floured work surface and knead gently until dough comes together, about 7 turns, OR 2) work dough with fork until thoroughly (but not overly) mixed.

Divide in half. Shape each half into ball; flatten each into 6-inch round. Place rounds on ungreased baking sheet, spacing 5 inches apart. Brush tops with beaten egg white. Sprinkle lightly with ground black pepper. Using small sharp knife, cut 1/2-inch-deep X in top of each dough round.

Bake breads until deep golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool breads on rack at least 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Photo credit: Me (Leeann, for once :P)