In my opinion, nothing beats a thick slice of freshly baked bread, still warm from the oven and soaked with melted butter. I devour the first slice, savor the second. Still wanting more, the loaf doesn’t last long in our home. This soda bread is no exception, and is even better toasted! In our home, it doesn’t last long enough to freeze, but I’m confident it will freeze well.
I have baked this soda bread in an 8 inch enamel coated cast iron skillet and in a 2 quart enameled cast iron dutch oven, uncovered. In the skillet, you get a loaf that is spread out and not as “high”. It bakes higher in the dutch oven. It is all a matter of preference. The skillet loaf is perfect for slicing and serving with dinner. The dutch oven loaf is ideal for toasting. The photo above is a dutch oven baked loaf. The baking time varies for each. A matter of a few more minutes in the dutch oven, vs the skillet.
For many years past, my mother made Irish Soda Bread for St. Patrick’s day. Along with the traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner. Her mother’s family hailed from County Louth, Ireland, so I guess the Irish genes carried on in the baking. That soda bread has always been my favorite part of that or any meal. Slathered with butter. Impossible to resist…
Here, I have created a recipe for soda bread using whole wheat flour and homemade buttermilk; which is so simple to make. Adding dried currents is optional. I am not a fan of caraway seeds, tho if YOU are, feel free to add a spoonful.
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this soda bread.
Into a large mixing bowl place:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1 TB each, granulated sugar and light brown sugar
1 rounded teaspoon each, baking soda and baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
using a whisk, mix all the dry ingredients together well
To a small bowl add 1 extra large egg (I use duck eggs for baking but one extra large egg works fine here), and 2 TB of sour cream. Beat well and set aside.
For the buttermilk you will need:
1/4 cup (half a stick) of butter (melted)
2 cups whole milk
roughly 1 TB white vinegar
Melt the butter in a 4 cup glass measuring cup. (I use my microwave on low for a few seconds and watch closely or the butter will explode !!! )
Add the 2 cups of milk to the melted butter in the measuring cup. Then drizzle in the vinegar. Let the mixture set for a minute but do not stir.
Add the egg and sour cream mixture simultaneously with the buttermilk to the dry ingredients. Mix all together just until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. Using a spatula, scrape the sides of the mixing bowl and give the mixture an extra turn or two just to be sure there are no dry ingredients left in the bottom of the bowl.
Pre heat your oven to 325 degrees
Lightly spray the bottom of an 8″ cast iron skillet (I use an enameled skillet) or a small (2 QT) dutch oven.
Using the spatula, scrape the dough evenly into the skillet. Roughly smooth the dough so it is evenly placed but don’t make it totally smooth on top. You want the rough, craggy top to give the bread a rustic texture.
Bake the bread in your 325 degree oven for 40 minutes if you are using a skillet. Check to see if the loaf is done by inserting a toothpick into the middle. If the toothpick comes out with some dough on it, give the loaf another 5 minutes and check again. Do this in 5 minute increments until the toothpick comes out clean. If you are using a dutch oven, check the middle of the bread after 45 minutes and use the same method of checking the loaf. Continue checking until the loaf is fully baked. I have a gas convection oven for baking and the loaf in the dutch oven took roughly 60 minutes. All ovens vary, just do not overbake this bread or it might be dry.
Once the bread is completely baked, remove it from the oven onto a cooling rack. After 20 minues of cooling carefully remove the bread from the cast iron skillet or dutch oven. Don’t get burned by the still very hot cast iron !!!
Let the bread cool before slicing. This is the hard part…you will want to slice it while it is still warm! It will crumble a bit, and you will want to melt gobs of buter onto its glorious surface. Go ahead…do it. We need all the joy we can get right now, more than ever. So, GO AHEAD…DO IT.
Many BLESSINGS to you all…