Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Irish Soda Bread

Did you know that there is a society for the preservation of Irish Soda Bread? I didn't know that until I read about it in the newspaper. I thought I kept the article, but sadly, I didn't. The society is apparently very upset about the fact that any ingredient other than flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk is going into Irish Soda Bread. Apparently, true Irish Soda Bread does not contain raisins, or nuts, or chocolate chips, or any ingredient other than the original four.
So Julia's recipe for Irish Soda Bread fits within the boundaries of the Society's mission. The only ingredients are flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. I still haven't located my camera--so no pictures. I made this, along with roasted cabbage and potato-leek soup, for an Irish family dinner when my dad and stepmother were in town. I loved how easily the bread came together--although it was REALLY messy! I kept adding flour so I could get it to a consistency that would allow me to "pat the dough into a disk about 6 inches across."
The bread came out beautifully, and was delicious. There was only one very small piece left, which I took to work the next day. Although the recipe says that the bread will "turn as hard as the Blarney Stone," it was really good the next day too!

3 comments:

  1. What an interesting tidbit about a Society for Preservation! Go figure!

    We enjoyed our soda bread also, and I, like you, kept to the four simple ingredients. :)

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  2. I did an Internet search before making my soda bread and I came across the a site called "Society for the preservation of Irish soda bread." I guess they will be angry with me because I used raisins in my bread. You're right though, it tastes just as good the next day, especially toasted!

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  3. Wow, a whole society. I guess some people are truly passionate about their traditions :-)

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