Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Irish Soda Bread with Guest Kav Rees

It's that time of year again...




I have Yankee Belle Regular, Kav Rees, here today to share a soda bread recipe just in time for St. Patrick's Day.




Nothing says Happy St. Patrick’s Day like Irish Soda Bread and it’s super easy to make. Prep time is about 10 minutes, baking time 40…within an hour you can be serving piping hot slices slathered with butter. Yum. But be prepared…soda bread doesn’t taste like yeast bread. It’s denser and saltier. You either love it or you hate it. I happen to LOVE it enough to make it all through the year. Maybe that’s the reason I haven’t conquered yeast bread yet. Soda bread is just so easy!

Why the cross on the top of the loaf?
Do you want the practical, superstitious or religious answer? Okay – I’ll give you all three:
Practical – it allows the heat to get through the thickest part of the bread so it cooks evenly
Superstitious – to let the devil out of the bread
Religious – symbolic blessing of the bread and giving thanks
Here’s the recipe – and stay tuned for a rare photo of yours truly – yes in the flesh. I believe it is the only image of me on the internet – a real Yankeebelle exclusive.
Irish Soda Bread
4 cups Flour (I used spelt, you can use all-purpose whole wheat or white or a mix)
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp butter
1 ½ cups buttermilk or sour milk
You can add raisins if you like --- as much as you like
Mix dry ingredients and cut in butter. Make a well and add milk as needed to make a soft dough. There’s a point where you have to dive in with your hands and smoosh the dough while it’s still yucky. J Just keep working it until it’s still a bit tacky. Lightly knead it for 2-3 minutes – just in your hands, don’t pummel it on a bread board. Too much handling will make the bread tough. Dough will be smooth but a wee bit sticky (it will still cling to your fingers but will pull away.) Form into a round loaf – cut a cross into the top. Place on a buttered cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 40ish minutes. LOL. Bread will brown on top and if you look into the cross part you can see if it’s cooked through. A tap on its bottom should sound hollow. Don’t overcook so start checking around 30 minutes. Nothing tougher than overdone soda bread.
Kav kissing the blarney stone
And yes – here it is – a picture of Kav kissing the blarney stone many, many years ago when she was still nimble enough to climb the stairs and lay down on the cold stone floor.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!

28 comments:

  1. haha! To let the devil out! That made me laugh. And I've never made soda bread but I'm going to try it today. I have a 3lb slab of "real Amish butter from Wisconsin" that I found in our local grocery store. I have no idea what makes butter Amish, but it is DELICIOUS. (Yes, it only came in 3lb chunks wrapped in waxed paper, so odd.)
    I bet I love this bread because we love ALL bread around here!

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    1. Oooohhhh....mixing cultures...Amish Irish Soda Bread! You're such a radical! Bwahahaha! Hope you enjoy the taste of soda bread.

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  2. Thanks for sharing this, Kav! I just printed a recipe yesterday for Irish soda bread. It has raisins in it. I plan to make it tomorrow! I may just make yours instead. :)

    I have to admit, when I read you were going to share a first ever photo of you, I quickly scrolled down, hoping to finally see your face. LOL Oh, well. Maybe someday instead I'll just get to meet you in person!

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    1. Bwahahahaha! I'm sooooo camera shy it isn't funny. Plus I take really horrid pictures. Really. Horrid. If I ever get one I like, I'll post it on Facebook. But it's kind of fun too, because if I ever went to a conference I'd be incognito and I could stealthily spy on y'all...only maybe the walker would give me away. Hmmmm.

      Hope you make that soda bread tomorrow, whichever recipe you use. It's yummy.

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  3. Thanks so much for being here today, Kav. I had no idea why there was a cross cut in the top of the bread. I love all three reasons.

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    1. Thanks for sharing a wee bit of Irish cuisine, Mary. And there always seems to be symbolism when it comes to all things Irish. I love the blessing the house idea for making the cross...though I'm grateful that it makes the bread cook through as well.

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  4. Hi Kav! Great to see you on the barista side of the counter here in the Cafe!

    I love soda bread, but I've never made it. Now I have no excuse. Prep time is ten minutes? I'm all over that!

    And I love your picture. Clever. Someday, when we meet in person, I'll be looking for a red sweater. :)

    The cross stitch crosses are beautiful. Did you make them? I love to do cross stitch, too.

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    1. Well, red is my favourite colour. :-) I cross-stich but give all my creations away. Luckily my daughter caught the bug and the same habit and she made these for me. And yes, you must try the soda bread. So delicious any time but especially hot out of the oven with butter melting....drool.

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  5. Kav, its so fun to have you posting today. You have a terrific sense of humor. And the soda bread looks extremely yummy. The best part of an Irish meal as far as I'm concerned. smile
    Love the photo too. But you are a tease. Hugs

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    1. :-) Thanks, Sandra. And the soda bread is beyond yummy! Blissful sigh.

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    2. I'm eating my soda bread scones as I catch up, Kav.

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  6. I love this post. But you may not love me if I tell you how many germs and other things are coating the blarney stone. Thanks so much for the tip about spelt. I may have to try this.

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    1. I don't want to know about the 'other things', Julie, that sounds ominous. Of course, I'm staunchly sticking to the fact that they clean the blarney stone with fairy dust daily which makes it impossible for germs and other nasty things to adhere to said stone. So there. Pffft.

      I always use spelt flour. My daughter has sensitivities and that's the flour that seems to work best in all kinds of recipes. Terribly expensive up here these days though, but still worth it, I think.

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    2. LOL! Including MY germs! Put there in the late 70's. hahaha

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    3. Oh, Missy, were Blarney cousins! Who knew?

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    4. LOL, I was going to say that I suspect whatever germs might have been caught are long since gone.

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    5. And I'm living proof that there were no ill effects. :-)

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  7. Interesting stories about the cross on top of the bread. And speaking of 'cross,' those are gorgeous cross-stitch works, Kav. How fun that your daughter made those for you since you give your cross-stitch away :-) Do you design your own patterns?

    Nancy C

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    1. Yes, inquiring minds want to know.

      Once upon a time, I used to do cross-stitch too. But I kept getting a pinched nerve in my neck.

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    2. Ha -- no...I'm not that clever. Daughter is though -- she made up the Celtic Cross pattern from a picture. She's clever like that. Her mother not so much.

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  8. The only thing this recipe is missing is caraway seeds.
    They are far and away my favorite part of the bread.

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    1. Tsk, tsk, Miss Cate, that's not traditional fare. Though there's a chef in Ireland who is getting quite a name for himself with his outrageous additions to soda bread. Think caraway might be in his repertoire.

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  9. This is such a treat to have Kav here!!! And Irish Soda Bread??? Oh, thank you for bringing us such a treat. I remember James Beard (Beard on Bread) being unenthusiastic about Irish Soda Bread, but when there was no yeast around, women did what they needed to do to make bread for their families, and this was a staple! Thank you, Kav!

    Mmm... caraway seeds!!!! YES. And I laughed at the devil thing, too, and now I want to know why Amish butter tastes better?????

    Jersey cows, maybe? Guernseys? Or they add carrot juice for color?

    I am so curious!

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    1. Yes -- most Irish folk didn't have an oven so they couldn't bake yeast bread and they couldn't always afford to buy it at a bakery. They cooked soda bread on a kind of cast iron frying pan on legs that sat in the coals of the fire. I know all this interesting stuff from an assignment my daughter did in elementary school. She remembers nothing but I benefitted from her education. LOL

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  10. Kav, good to see you baking in the Cafe! I've always wanted to try soda bread...and your recipes looks easy. I like easy! I'll try this soon.

    My son and DIL went to Ireland...and kissed the stone. She loved the visit because her name was pronounced correctly....Ciara.

    Happy St. Patrick's Day to you tomorrow!

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    1. Very easy, Sherida. You should make it tomorrow. Happy St. Patrick's Day right back at you.

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  11. I'm a little shocked you shared that graphic picture of yourself.

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