Master Recipe
Classic Irish Soda Bread
makes 1 loaf
NOTE: This
bread is a great accompaniment to soups or stews, and leftovers
make fine toast. With their flavorful grains and additions, the
variations can stand alone.
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
2 tablespoons sugar
11/2 teaspoons baking soda
11/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
11/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (see figures 3 through 5), plus 1 tablespoon melted butter for crust
11/2 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt together in large bowl. Work diced butter into dry ingredients with fork or fingertips until texture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Add buttermilk and stir with a fork just until dough begins to come together. Turn out onto lightly flour-coated work surface; knead until dough just becomes cohesive and bumpy, 12 to 14 turns. (Do not knead until dough is smooth, or bread will be tough.)
3. Pat dough into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 21/2 inches high; place on greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Score dough by cutting cross shape on top of loaf (see figure 12).
4. Bake until golden brown and a skewer inserted into center of loaf comes out clean or internal temperature reaches 180 degrees, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter; cool for 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Once cooled, bread can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for a couple of days.
VARIATIONS:
Irish Brown Soda Bread
Unlike the Classic Irish Soda Bread dough, which is dry, this dough is extremely sticky.
Follow master recipe, making the following changes: Decrease all-purpose flour to 13/4 cups and cake flour to 1/2 cup. Add 11/4 cups stone-ground whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ to flour mixture. Replace granulated sugar with 3 tablespoons brown sugar. Bake bread to internal temperature of 190 degrees, 45 to 55 minutes.
American-Style Soda Bread with Raisins and Caraway
This dough is wet and sticky.
Follow master recipe, making the following changes: Increase sugar to 1/4 cup and softened butter to 4 tablespoons. Add 1 lightly beaten egg, 1 cup raisins, and 1 tablespoon caraway seeds (optional) along with buttermilk. Bake to internal temperature of 170 degrees, 40 to 45 minutes, covering bread with aluminum foil if it is browning too much.