I'm lucky to have married a man whose nickname is Martha. The man cooks. He cleans. He launders. In the last five years, I have bought him not one, but two vacuums for Christmas. D. is, unabashedly, a domestic god.
One weekend last December, he whipped up a batch of soup for dinner. Not to be outdone, I wanted to make bread. However, unlike my husband, I have an enormous lazy streak. That's where this delightful Irish Soda Bread recipe comes in handy. If you use buttermilk fairly often, like I do, then you might luck out and have all the ingredients on hand. The dough comes together quickly, there's no rise time, and it goes with anything, sweet or savory.
We had it with our soup and the next morning, I toasted a few slices and they were great with butter and honey.
Irish Soda Bread
(from Marion Cunningham via Baking With Julia)
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups buttermilk
Preheat over to 375 degrees F. Grease an 8 or 9-inch pie pan (a baking sheet works, too).
In a large mixing bowl, blend the flour, baking soda, and salt with a fork. Add the buttermilk and stir until the dough comes together. It's a very sticky dough, so flour your board before turning it out. Knead gently for about one minute and the dough will still be sticky and very soft, but it will firm up a little bit. Do not overwork it.
Place it into the greased pan and note that it will not reach the sides. Using a sharp knife, slash a 1/2-inch deep X on top. Bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before serving. The bread keeps overnight, but beyond that, it doesn't last very long.
One weekend last December, he whipped up a batch of soup for dinner. Not to be outdone, I wanted to make bread. However, unlike my husband, I have an enormous lazy streak. That's where this delightful Irish Soda Bread recipe comes in handy. If you use buttermilk fairly often, like I do, then you might luck out and have all the ingredients on hand. The dough comes together quickly, there's no rise time, and it goes with anything, sweet or savory.
We had it with our soup and the next morning, I toasted a few slices and they were great with butter and honey.
Irish Soda Bread
(from Marion Cunningham via Baking With Julia)
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups buttermilk
Preheat over to 375 degrees F. Grease an 8 or 9-inch pie pan (a baking sheet works, too).
In a large mixing bowl, blend the flour, baking soda, and salt with a fork. Add the buttermilk and stir until the dough comes together. It's a very sticky dough, so flour your board before turning it out. Knead gently for about one minute and the dough will still be sticky and very soft, but it will firm up a little bit. Do not overwork it.
Place it into the greased pan and note that it will not reach the sides. Using a sharp knife, slash a 1/2-inch deep X on top. Bake until golden brown, about 50 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before serving. The bread keeps overnight, but beyond that, it doesn't last very long.
7 bites:
I'm part Irish! My sister used to make something similar all the time. Mmmm irish butter...
I love how this recipe takes no effort at all especially for bread. Great find!
may i suggest using kerrygold pure irish butter on that hearty irish soda bread? :)
jk. it looks so good, marie. i am at my happiest when i have a hunk of bread in my hands. i would love an excuse to have to eat the entire loaf all by myself in one night/morning so it wouldn't go to waste.
ps. TWO VACUUMS?! excellent choice, marie...just excellent.
Wow, i like this recipe. Did you have to come up with it on your own? I ask because i recently made irish soda bread for the first time and had to look up recipes online. I never found one as slick as this one though, and your brea looks fabulous. I liked making it so much that i went on to make olive soda bread =) cheers. thanks for sharing.
I need to send this recipe to my Mother In Law, whose idea of easy Irish soda bread is one made with Bisquick. Yours looks much better!
Husbands like yours (and mine if the State of California would just let us get married already!!) who know how to cook and who know their way around the kitchen and house are the BEST! I'm going to start making bread at home. I've been saying that for the longest time now but I will SOON! Your Irish Soda Bread may be a good place to start!
Did you style that butter Adam Pearson-style?