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!