Irish Soda Bread 1

About one hundred and fifty years ago it was common to make bread using baking soda rather than yeast in parts of rural Ireland. That's where Irish soda bread gets its name. The practice of using baking soda started out of necessity. Yeast won't make dough rise unless the baker uses "strong" flour, which was scarce in parts of Ireland. Baking soda, however, could be counted on to leaven bread. The baking soda has to be combined with something acidic in order to do its magic. In this case, we've used buttermilk. So, not only is this a historic and tasty recipe; it's pretty foolproof, too.

Ingredients

2 cups white flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. butter, chilled

1 cup raisins

1 1/2 cups buttermilk or plain yogurt

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

Cut in the butter until it is pea-sized. Stir in the raisins and buttermilk or yogurt. Turn the dough onto a floured surface, knead 1 minute, and shape into a disk.

Cut an "X" in the top and bake on a greased baking sheet for 45 to 50 minutes. Makes one 8-inch-wide loaf.

Irish Soda Bread 2

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 cup raisins

1 egg, beaten

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons margarine, melted

  Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a cast iron skillet. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and sugar.Toss the raisins with the flour mixture until coated. Make a well in the center and add the egg, buttermilk, and melted margarine. Stir until all of the dry ingredients are absorbed. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for a few quick turns just to even out the dough. Handle the dough as little as possible. Pat into a flat circle, and place into the prepared pan.

Bake the bread for 40 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are golden.

The VJJE Recipe Weekly John Havel, Editor