Irish Brown Bread - Irish Soda Bread

I love it when my readers send in requests. Lana of Life at Wildberry Cottage left the following comment on my Buttermilk Biscuits post: "Recipe looks easy, and I agree with you about the organic ingredients. With St. Patrick's Day coming up next month, would you have a recipe for Irish soda bread that does not come out dry? I have tried many recipes that fall short."

It had been a long time since I'd made it, so I had to dig through a few boxes to find the recipe I'd developed years ago. Like Lana, I don't like soda bread that's overly dry and crumbly. I hope she--and you--will find my recipe to your liking. Do let me know! Keep in mind that this is a bread best eaten on the day it's made or toasted the next day.

Since I'm not Irish (though Danny Boy always makes me cry!), I make no claims about "authenticity." But this does taste very much like the bread served at a nearby Irish pub. Some purists would object, I'm sure, to the brown sugar, the butter or the egg--or all three. But I think one or all of those might be the very things that give this loaf the texture I like. It's the perfect accompaniment to soups and stews.

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Irish Brown Soda Bread

2 1/2 dip-and-sweep cups (12.5 ounces/354 grams) stone ground whole wheat flour
1 1/2 dip-and-sweep cups (7.5 ounces/213 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons (1.5 ounces/43 grams) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups (14 fluid ounces/414 ml) buttermilk

1 Preheat oven to 400F/205C/Gas6. Put a 12-inch square of parchment paper on baking sheet.

2 In large bowl, whisk together flours, brown sugar, salt and baking soda. With fingers, rub butter into flour mixture. In 2-cup glass measure, beat egg and add buttermilk (about 1 3/4 cups) to the 2-cup line.

3 Make a well in center of flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Slowly bring the flour mixture into the liquid. Stir gently to combine into a slightly sticky dough that can be formed into a ball. Knead lightly, right in the bowl, not more than 5 or 6 times, forming into a ball.

4 Place ball of dough on parchment-lined baking sheet. Dough should (but may not) be of a consistency to flatten itself just slightly. Press it down a bit to a diameter of roughly 6 1/2 to 7 inches and a height of about 2 to 2 1/2 inches. With sharp knife, cut a 1/4-inch deep "+" on top of dough (helps the bread to cook through and not have a doughy middle).

5 Bake for about 50 minutes, or until it tests done. I do two tests: 1. stick a toothpick in the center and see if it comes out clean and 2. tap it on the bottom and see if it sounds hollow. To cool, place the loaf on a wire rack and cover it with a clean kitchen towel. Cool completely, 2 to 3 hours, before slicing, or it may be too crumbly and not hold together well.

Note: For breakfast, serve with butter and marmalade. For dinner, serve with butter. For appetizers, spread with butter and top with smoked salmon or prosciutto (I use Applegate).

Jean

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