Happy (almost) St. Patrick’s Day everyone! If you haven’t made some good Irish Soda Bread yet, now is the time. I have a batch baking in the oven as we speak!
Now, this isn’t the sweet Irish Soda Bread we usually think of in the USA. Traditional Irish Soda bread is a plain bread, not sweet or with dried fruit. This dense, rich bread is not only incredible to dip into hearty stew (recipe here), but you can use it to make sandwiches (reubens,anyone?), toast it and spread with some jam, etc. I actually make this bread all year long, because it is SO easy to make. You can even make it in a toaster oven (trust me, I’ve done it). I usually like to make it right in my cast iron skillet, but you can use a 9in. cake pan, of course.
Real Irish Soda Bread
What You’ll Need:
+ 4 cups all purpose flour
+ 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
+ 1 teaspoon salt
+ 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
+ 1 and 3/4 cups buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or a fork, blend the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the buttermilk, and stir until combined and a dough has formed. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and add flour if it’s still very sticky. Gently knead a few times and shape into a round loaf.Place in a greased 9 inch cake pan or cast iron pan . Cut an X in the top to allow it to rise more. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. It will be firm to the touch and brown.
If you’d like my recipe for the sweet Irish Soda Bread, head over to Here!
A Pinch Here, A Dash There 