Hello bakers and sweeties!
This week my nephew is doing a report on Ireland. He gets to share with his young peers the rich history of the rolling hills that sing proud and strong. In his assignment to share about this lush country, I was asked if I would make some Irish Soda Bread for him to take into class with him to share. Sharing bread as well as knowledge. I told my Aunt, his mom (they are chosen family, I know its weird) that I would do one better; We would bake it together!
Unfortunately as the day crept up on all of us, he had a birthday party to attend. So his sisters helped me instead. It was so fun watching their personalities. B did not like getting her hands dirty, but still wanted to help. S was elbow deep in dough. It was a great bonding experience. Though, my favorite moment was when one of the girls asked "What soda are we going to put in it?"
Oh my dears, we're not putting soda POP into the bread, but BAKING soda. That's what the recipe refers to. There are only 4 ingredients in this recipe: flour, salt, baking soda, and buttermilk. Ready to learn how to make this doughlisious bread?
Irish Soda Bread
4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 cups Buttermilk*
Traditionally you also add oatmeal, sesame seeds, or wheat on top. For this occasion, we did not.
*If you do not have Buttermilk on hand or don't see the need to go buy some just for this, add 1 tbs of Distilled White Vinegar to 1 cup of milk. Let it sit for 5 minuets, then use.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and grease a 9' pan.
Mix all of your dry ingredients into a large bowl. Once incorporated, make a well in the middle of your bowl.
Pour in your Buttermilk and start mixing. We started with a whisk, but quickly just used our hands. Sometimes that's the most satisfying way to bake, buy getting your hands dirty. You can also do this in a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. For me, the dough always seems to come out sticky, so you can either not put in all the milk, or add a little bit more flour.
Place the dough directly into the pan. If the dough is tacky, and still a little wet, place a little flour on top and on your hands and press it to fill the pan. This is where you would sprinkle the oats or seeds in top (before the flour or it won't stick). Then cut an "X" on the top, giving the dough room to blossom out. Make sure it's deep. You can tell on our bakes that we didn't cut deep enough.
Place pan into the oven, then immediately turn the temperature down to 400 degrees. Let it cook for 35-45 minuets. CAREFULLY take the loaf out of the pan and place it back into the oven for 10-15 minuets. You know when it's done if you flick the bottom and it's hallow.
**COOL TIP** You can tell when most breads (ones with a hard crust and soft inside) are done by the flick test.
Let cool then enjoy. I like using this recipe for toast with butter and jelly. YUM!
That's all for today. Join me next week as we look into Mothers Day Desserts!
Stay sweet!
The Sugar Siren