Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!!! Yesterday was my first day in partial retirement. Well, really more like part-time work! Not only do I get to work part-time, I also get to bake…I mean work, from home! So what did I do on my first afternoon free? I spent a few hours reading about food – blogs, articles, cookbooks. And I no sooner dropped it all when I read an article from last year’s Bon Appetit Magazine, A Slice of Ireland. Andrew McCarthy, the author, talks about his trip ’round Ireland in search of the perfect brown soda bread. He transported me to Ireland guiding you through the chewy and spongy soda breads to the dry and crumbly. I was intrigued by his discussion of traditional soda bread becoming increasingly difficult to find in Ireland due to the invasion of caraway and raisins into the dough. And thinking back on all of the traditional Irish food I have had during my lifetime, I had never had traditional brown soda bread. And in an effort to not be a green beer drinking american on Saint Patrick’s Day (I’m wearing my pink UConn sweatshirt) I did it up the traditional way…
Yes, I wanted to relive this true experience, so I made all three of the breads, Fallon & Byrne Soda Bread, Traditional Wholemeal and Mrs.O’callaghan’s. What else was I supposed to do with my free time, more email? Plus, I look way better in my pink apron than a business suit. Yes, I promise I’m a feminist!
All of the loaves came out successfully and were all good. But the best part was that I had three loaves that were very different and all good in their own way, and I hadn’t eaten lunch yet.
The traditional wholemeal was reminiscent of a sourdough whole wheat bread. Although I do think it would be fantastic with a flavorful soup or stew, I was not a fan of it on its own. With the highest proportion of white flour to whole grains, this was a wee too wheaty for me likin’.
Fallon & Byrne’s soda bread wins the most unexpectedly delicious bread. As I threw in different types of raw oats and wheat germ, I thought the bread would have a too much al dente texture as you chewed. There is a little bite that nicely adds to the texture. The flavor is fantastic. You can taste the oatiness, which I love, but the wheat germ also adds a nice flavor and texture. The bread is spongy and moist. And truthfully fantastic for breakfast toasted with a bit of butter and honey!
Last, but definitely not least, is Mrs. O’Callaghan’s Soda Bread. This had a nice sweet, crunchy crust with a dense, moist, somewhat chewy interior. And although Mr. McCarthy may have been partial, the boyfriend thinks he is correct when selecting this as the best soda bread. With a good balance of whole wheat, white flour and brown sugar here is a bread you can bring to the table with many different meals.
I really liked Mrs. O’Callaghan’s bread warm out of the oven and the Fallon and Byrne toasted with butter and honey. So I suppose this is the winner as it stands up so well on its own, but the Fallon and Byrne…well maybe you should be the judge. But I’ll leave you with Mrs. O’Callaghan’s Soda Bread – as long as you leave the green to the fields of Ir’land and the dye in its container!
Mrs. O’Callaghan’s Soda Bread
Makes 2 Loaves
Adapted from Bon Appetit
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 ¼ to 2 1/3 cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray heavy baking sheet with nonstick spray. Whisk both flours, sugar, and baking soda in medium bowl to blend. Add butter and cut in until butter is reduced to pea-size pieces – you could use a food processor for this. Add 2 ¼ cups buttermilk; stir until shaggy dough forms. If there is still a good amount of dry flour in the bowl, add the remaining buttermilk
Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until dough comes together, about 10 turns.
Shape dough into 2 9-inch rounds. More important is the round being about an inch high, so you can make the round a bit wider . Place dough on prepared baking sheet. Cut large X, 1/2 inch deep, in top of dough, almost all the way to the edges of the round.
Bake bread in center of oven for 30 minutes at 425°F. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and bake until deep brown and bottom sounds hollow when firmly tapped – this took my bread about 20 minutes. Transfer bread to rack and cool completely – (try it slightly warm :))
It looks amazing! I wish I was there for lunch.
And it will go fantastic with the corned beef and cabbage for dinner! :)
The soda bread was the hit of the St. Patrick’s day party and a perfect fit for the guinness stew… Plus UCONN won – so everything worked out perfect.