Herbs De Provence Soda Bread

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place butter in a heavy, small saucepan over medium heat, and melt, stirring, until golden brown in color, about 3 or 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir flour, oats, sugar, herbs de provence, rosemary, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper in large bowl, until blended. Into the dry mixture, pour buttermilk and melted browned butter. Stir with fork just until flour mix is moistened (do not over mix!).

Turn dough out onto a well floured surface and knead gently, about 6-8 turns, until dough just comes together (do not over knead!). Divide dough in half and lightly roll each into a ball and place on an ungreased baking stone a few inches apart. Flatten each gently, into a 6 inch round. Brush tops with beaten egg white and sprinkle lightly with fresh ground black pepper. With a small sharp knife, make an X, cutting 1/2 inch deep into the top of each loaf.

Bake 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, until deep golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool breads for 30 minutes on rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.