* johnny read that folks like it when we tell you about our trials, tribulations & successes in the kitchen...
in honor of the St. Patrick's Day holiday today, i figured it was a good day to finally try and bake up some irish soda bread...which i've been wanting to do since seeing that "bobby's ireland" special on the food network a few years ago...
what struck me was that there was something blissful about a 4 ingredient bread that came out so dense but light and full of flavor despite being so simple.
what struck me was that there was something blissful about a 4 ingredient bread that came out so dense but light and full of flavor despite being so simple.
as i investigated recipes this morning i found that the traditional "irish soda bread" by name is literally just flour, baking soda, salt & soured milk (our buttermilk) and the twists & additions like currents, raisins, caraway, sugar, eggs etc. that are in most popular or "americanized" recipes should not even be considered "soda bread"... (if this debate interests you in detail, i found this website to contain an abundance of information on the soda bread issue: www.sodabread.info).
...that all being said, i decided i was indeed still going to put a hobson's homemade spin on my inaugural soda bread attempt ...i'm irish, but only 15%... so i figured i wouldn't offend my ancestors too much if i went for it...luckily the 15 % provided me with enough "luck of the irish" because our thrown together soda bread attempt came out to be nothing less than scrumptious perfection.
we cooked it up in our cast iron skillet - just like my irish grammy did with hers this morning, and sliced it up hot out of the oven with some melted butter & a sprinkle of sugar. we'll definitely perfect it a bit and will be baking up some to share with all of you next St. Patrick's Day if not before.
- laura
- laura
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