This week on my blog, I'm featuring recipes and food products from the U.K. It was just sort of a random idea I had, when thinking about what I should make. I might have to do a Halloween/UK recipe for Wednesday, if there is such a thing.
This is just one of the recipes that caught my eye. It's Irish Soda Bread! Maybe it doesn't sound that exciting to you, but this appealed to me because it's a quick bread, but savory. It uses basic ingredients, and it's really easy.
It shocks some people to learn that Irish Soda Bread hasn't been around for thousands of years. Soda bread in Ireland wasn't until around the 1840's when bicarbonate of soda (Bread soda) as a leavening agent was introduced to Ireland to work with the "soft" wheat grown there.
To be honest, I didn't really enjoy this bread that much. I think I just prefer eating yeast breads. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this tastes like a cross between buttermilk biscuits and cornbread. That doesn't sound bad, does it? It's really good if you're in a hurry to make dinner and need some bread to go with it.
For more information on this bread, vist here. According to this site, my bread wasn't traditional, because I used sugar.
Irish Soda Bread (Recipe adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum's, The Bread Bible)
Printable Recipe
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a large sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Cut the butter into small pieces, so it will be easier to work with.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. With your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With a wooden spoon, stir in the buttermilk just until the dry ingredients are moistened and the dough comes together.
Empty the dough onto the counter and knead lightly about 8 times, until smooth but a little sticky. If it sticks to the counter, use a bench scraper to gather it together-try to avoid adding extra flour.
Roll the dough into a 6-inch round. Place it on the prepared baking sheet, and make a 1/2-inch deep slash from one side of the dough to the other, then make a second slash across it to form a cross.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool the bread on a wire rack, covered with a towel.
Printable Recipe
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a large sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Cut the butter into small pieces, so it will be easier to work with.
In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. With your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. With a wooden spoon, stir in the buttermilk just until the dry ingredients are moistened and the dough comes together.
Empty the dough onto the counter and knead lightly about 8 times, until smooth but a little sticky. If it sticks to the counter, use a bench scraper to gather it together-try to avoid adding extra flour.
Roll the dough into a 6-inch round. Place it on the prepared baking sheet, and make a 1/2-inch deep slash from one side of the dough to the other, then make a second slash across it to form a cross.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool the bread on a wire rack, covered with a towel.
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