Sunday, March 13, 2011

Nora's Irish Soda Bread

I don't know who Nora is, but when I pulled her recipe off of the internet a year ago, I was really impressed with it.  This recipe is a little different from those typically posted here because it isn't a yeast bread.  Instead, this quick bread (read: EASY!) is made by reacting baking soda (basic) and buttermilk (acidic) to make the bread rise.  Unfortunately I've tasted a lot of really bad soda bread.  It does not keep well, and if the dough is overworked, a game of kickball might put the resulting loaf to better use.  This recipe (while not exactly traditional) produces a really moist, wonderful loaf.  Note that I use regular, all-purpose flour.  This helps to reduce the formation of gluten, which would make the bread tough.

Mix Dry Ingredients:

  • 3 1/2 c. all purpose flour
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/3 c. sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 8 oz. raisins, softened (soak in hot water, drain)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbsp caraway seeds (optional)

Mix Wet Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 c. sour cream
  • 1/2 c. buttermilk
  • 3 Tbsp. melted margarine

Combine wet and dry ingredients; knead together on a floured surface. Add to a greased, floured 9" pan. Cut an "X" in the top. Bake 55-60 minutes at 350 ˚F.

Note:  This will make one big loaf or two smaller ones. You may, scale the recipe up by 0.5 to make two larger loaves.

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