I've really enjoyed working on my family's genealogy and learning about our Scots-Irish roots. I wish I had known this when my grandparents were living to learn any history or stories or recipes that come from that region. As it is I'm left to do my own research.
Last week I made Corned Beef and Cabbage. Today I tried my hand at Irish Soda Bread. It was much easier than I anticipated. From Wikipedia, I learned,
"Soda bread is a variety of quick bread traditionally made in a variety of cuisines in which sodium bicarbonate is used as a leavening agent instead of the traditional yeast. The ingredients of traditional Soda bread are flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. The buttermilk in the dough contains lactic acid, which reacts with the baking soda to form tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide. Other ingredients can be added such as butter, egg, raisins, or nuts. An advantage of quick breads is their ability to be prepared quickly and reliably, without requiring the time-consuming skilled labor and temperature control needed for traditional yeast breads."
Irish Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted
- 1 cup regular or golden raisins
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.In a big mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add melted butter, butter milk and egg. Combine just until incorporated.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface and fold it over onto itself two or three times, shaping it into a round, 8-inch loaf. Transfer loaf to a greased baking sheet or one lined with parchment.
Bake 45 minutes, until well-browned. Remove to your favorite Irish Tea Towel to cool completely before slicing, if you can wait that long.
Serve with butter and your favorite jam or preserves.
