Irish Soda Bread for St. Patrick's Week

Being a Delaney (by marriage), and it being St. Patricks’ Day Week – I felt compelled to try Irish Soda Bread. In doing my research ahead of time, I learned a lot about its origins.
 
Soda Bread became popular in Ireland when bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) became available as a leavening agent.  Bread soda made it possible to work with the “soft” wheat grown in Ireland’s climate, versus the “hard” wheat flour like we have in the US today which needs yeast to rise properly. “Soft” wheat doesn’t work well with yeast but is great for quick breads, like soda bread.
 
​
There is also a Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread and on their website you can learn a lot more about the history of soda bread. But according to them, the earliest published soda bread recipe was in a London magazine in 1836.
 
Soda Bread’s popularity was easy to understand –the soda wasn’t perishable, it was relatively inexpensive, and the other two main ingredient – wheat flour and buttermilk (which is a by-product of making butter) were easily available.
 
Before baking, a cross is traditionally cut on the top of the soda bread.  It is said that this is done to bless the house and ward off the devil.  But it is also practical - it lets the heat get through to the thickest part of the bread so it can stretch and rise.  It also automatically separates the bread into 4 equal quadrants making it easy to break apart, hence both breaking bread and giving thanks.
 
My husband found the recipe for me to try – it is “Granny Reynold’s Soda Bread.”  According to the recipe, “Casements Bar in San Francisco serves this tender and tangy soda bread, based on a family recipe from co-owner Gillian Fitzgerald.” Gillian says its equally delicious topped with butter and jam for breakfast or dipped in stew for supper. I can say that it was delicious with butter and jam – I used my favorite local Atlanta Emily’s G’s Triple Berry Jam. And I'd recommend this bread not just for St. Patrick's Day, but any time. Yum!

---

Granny Reynolds’s Soda Bread Recipe 
​Makes 1 large loaf

Casements Bar in San Francisco serves this tender and tangy soda bread, based on a family recipe from co-owner Gillian Fitzgerald. Granny Reynolds never measured her sour milk or knobs of butter, but good soda bread is more technique than ingredients, pulling the wet and dry ingredients together in a few swift strokes, without overworking the dough. Cut with a cross and baked until golden, it’s equally delicious topped with butter and jam for breakfast or dipped into stew for supper.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1⅔ cups (8 ounces/225 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more
• 1⅔ cups (8 ounces/225 grams) whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 large egg
• 1½ cups (12 fluid ounces/375 milliliters) low-fat buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon (½ ounce/15 grams) butter, chilled (Fitzgerald recommends Kerrygold salted Irish Butter
  

PREPARATION:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Generously dust a sheet pan and work surface with all-purpose flour.

Step 2: In a mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours. Add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg and buttermilk until smooth.

Step 3: Add the butter to the flour mixture and gently rub into the flour with your fingertips, until about the size of peas. Create a well in the middle of the flour mixture.

Step 4: Pour half of the buttermilk mixture into the well, and start to gently scoop the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients to combine. Unlike most bread, the less you knead this, the better. Add the remaining buttermilk and continue to scoop until just combined. The mixture should be soft and shaggy, but if it’s too sticky, add another ¼ cup all-purpose flour.

Step 5: Wash and dry your hands and dust them with flour. Turn out the dough on the generously floured work surface. Knead lightly in a circular motion, just a few folds, to create a wide, round loaf. Transfer the loaf to the prepared pan. With a sharp knife, score the top of the loaf in the shape of a cross; the cuts should be about an inch deep.

Step 6: Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes to set the crust. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees, then continue to bake until the loaf starts to turn golden, 30 minutes. Flip upside-down and continue to bake until the loaf is golden and it sounds hollow when tapped, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Transfer to a rack and let cool slightly.
​
Slice the soda bread, spread the slices with butter, and serve warm.