Basic Irish Soda Bread

I originally posted this in October 2009, and wanted to re-post it in honor of St. Patrick's Day coming up. This soda bread is so easy to make and goes so perfect with Corned Beef and Cabbage :)This bread is super easy to throw together, and it's wonderful dipped in stew, or with eggs at breakfast (or eaten plain...). I first made soda bread last St. Patrick's Day to have with our traditional St. Patties Day corned beef and cabbage. I found an awesome recipe from Diane Duane of EuropeanCuisines.com, complete with very detailed instructions and how-to videos. My advice is to watch the videos, even if you don't think you need to. My first try at the bread was a flop. Then I went back and watched the videos. "Oh, that's what I did wrong..." Somethings you just need to see. My second try was a complete success, thanks to her well-done video tutorials. Thanks, Diane!

Basic Irish Soda Bread
Printable Recipe

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/3-1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1. Heat your oven to 400, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the buttermilk and whisk it quickly with a fork. (Start with 1 1/3 cup of the buttermilk, and add the rest if it looks like you need it.)

The dough should look like this; "raggy" is what Diane calls it. She says, "You are trying to achieve a dough that is raggy and very soft, but the lumps and rags of it should look dryish and "floury", while still being extremely squishy if you poke them."

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gather the dough and knead it a few times, just enough to get it into a ball that holds together (a minute a most). Use a very sharp knife to make criss-crossing cuts in the top; the cuts should go about half-way through. The cuts let the bread "flower" as it cooks.

5. Cook the bread for 35-40 minutes, or until it's nicely browned, and sounds hollow when you tap it on the bottom.

6. To get a softer crust, wrap the hot bread in a clean dish towel while it cools (sometimes I help it along by putting the towel-wrapped bread in a plastic bag).

I absolutely recommend you go and read all of Diane's post about her soda bread (and watch the videos). She has a ton of really great information that will help you get the bread just right.