A Generous Table

When I was cooking the potato leek soup, I had an irresistible urge to eat it with soda bread!  Irish American soda bread is nothing like the real thing.  Real soda bread is crunchy, chewy and great with soups and stews – it calls for a good smear of salted butter – pasture butter, if you can get it!  You can add dried currants or caramelized onions or herbs to the batter, if you like, to fancy it up a bit.  This is a great bread for your recipe book  since there is no kneading and it cooks so quickly!  Practice makes perfect as far as how much liquid to put in, but your results will all be delicious – so have fun!

White Soda Bread

• 1 lb all purpose or cake flour (the wheat in Ireland is very low in protein and gluten, so cake flour would be more accurate – but all purpose flour works fine too!)
• 1 level teaspoon baking soda (don’t be tempted to add a little more – it will spoil the flavor and appearance of the bread)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 – 2 cups buttermilk (or add 2 Tablespoons lemon juice or white vinegar to a 2 cup measure and fill to 2 cups with regular milk, allowing it to sit at least 5 minutes)
• Flour, for dusting

Preheat oven to 450F.  Taking a large baking sheet, sprinkle it lightly with flour in an approximate 12″ circle in the center, to keep bread from sticking.  Set baking sheet aside, and lightly flour about 12″ of your work surface.  Sift the flour, soda and salt together into a large bowl.  Stir well to thoroughly combine soda with flour.  Make a well in the center of your flour and start to  pour in the smallest amount of milk, stirring with your hand or a wooden spoon or spatula.  The dough should be moist and  sticky, with no flour crumbles in the bottom of the bowl.  A dry dough will make heavy bread, but you don’t want it sopping wet, either.  The dryness of the day and the flour will determine the amount of liquid.  Here in very dry Denver, I use the larger amount.  Working quickly, once the dough is mixed, turn the dough onto your floured work surface.  If you mixed the dough with your hands, wash them and dry thoroughly.  Flour your hands and lightly knead and pat the dough into a circle about 2″ thick, place on the prepared baking sheet on top of the flour.  If you like, you can make 2 smaller loaves or 4 individual loaves, just reduce the baking times. Using a knife, slice a cross onto the top, making sure to go down the sides.  Slice about 1/8″ deep.  This will allow the bread to rise (or to let the Fairies out!).  Bake for 20 minutes at 450F, then lower heat to 400F and bake a further 15 minutes, or until bread sound hollow when tapped on the bottom and feels light for it size.  Cool on a rack, covered with a kitchen towel (not terrycloth) to soften the crust.  To serve, split into quarters along the cuts and slice each wedge. Serve with lots of salted butter, and maybe some jam! This bread does not keep well, so either eat or freeze the first day.  You can also toast the leftovers the next day.   (adapted from Darina Allen and the Ballymaloe Cookery School)

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