For the month of September’s Daring Baker’s Challenge Meredith from the Poco Loco Olsons challenged us to experiment with soda bread.
I got to learn a lot about Soda Bread, thanks to Meredith. Contrary to the popular belief, soda bread wasn’t invented by Irish bakers. In fact, food historians give credit of first using soda to leaven bread to the Native Americans, who used pearl ash to help their breads rise.
I believe, Over the years, the Irish people have definitely made this delicious treat their own and are most commonly associated with this diverse and delectable food. I have always come across Soda Breads with Raisins, cranberries etc. Most of the breads also have a cross in the top of each loaf. They can be white or brown.
The bread contains simple ingredients - flour,baking soda, buttermilk and salt. No- eggs,butter,oil, sugar etc. The ingredients come together in matter of minutes and the bread is ready in less than one hour. Soda bread adds a festive flair to every St. Patrick’s Day meal.
Using Soda Bread, I made two kinds of simple sandwiches - one with mayo, sun-dried tomatoes along with sautéed onion and peppers. The second one was my little ones favorite with almond butter and slices of banana. It turned out to be a little hard the next day, I should have wrapped the loaf in clean kitchen towel while they cool. Meredith says that Soda bread is best if wrapped in aluminum foil after it is completely cool and then given a day to season.
An easy quick bread!
Ingredients
- 2½ cups sour milk or buttermilk
- 2 cups whole wheat flour( I used white wheat flour)
- 4 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Mix the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. (I do this by hand, but you could use a mixer if you’d prefer.)Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.Pour the buttermilk into the well.Mix the dough until the flour is completely incorporated. (It will be very stiff. I find it helpful to knead the dough by hand a few times while it is still in the bowl to make sure all of the flour is incorporated before moving on to the next step.)Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet.
Pat or roll the dough into a circle shape that is approximately 1 inch thick.Using your fingertips or the blunt end of a wooden spoon handle, make several dimples in the top of the dough. (This is very similar to the technique used when making focaccia bread.)
Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the preheated hot oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Reduce the heat to moderately hot 400°F. Pull the baking sheet out from under the dough, so the parchment is directly on the oven rack. Bake for 10 more minutes or until the top is golden brown.
http://www.thefoodielovers.com/2015/09/irish-soda-bread-daring-bakers-september15-challenge/Buttermilk substitutes :
To 2½ cups of milk add 2 tablespoons lemon juice (or white vinegar) let stand for five minutes and then use as normal buttermilk.
2 cups of plain unsweetened yoghurt plus ½ cup of milk
1½ cups of sour cream plus 1 cup of milk
Thanks Meredith for the easy challenge!
