Tuesday, March 20, 2012

TWD: BWJ - Irish Soda Bread

Round about March 17, everybody and their brother becomes Irish. I have no Irish blood in me, but I do love me some corned beef and (mini) cabbage, which is a traditional (American) Irish dinner for St. Patrick's Day.

This year I made baked corned beef (so so so good), shredded sauteed Brussels sprouts, pan roasted potatoes and Irish soda bread for our celebration. The stout chocolate brownies came today.

Back to the soda bread. This was a recipe that Julia baked with Marion Cunningham. This one is simple beyond simple. It consists of four ingredients - flour, salt, baking soda, and buttermilk. It's a one bowl bread. I even did the minor amount of kneading in my bowl so I didn't dirty the counter. There's no rising time and no special pans needed. Mine baked in a glass 9" pie plate.


This came out a gorgeous golden color. I followed the recipe exactly, but I could see there being a zillion variations. I was gifted with a pound of European butter, and we used some on this bread. Heavenly. I added a small dash of sea salt as well. I could have easily eaten half the loaf with gobs of butter on it.

This will absolutely be added to my recipe rotation. There are nights when I'll take a soup or stew out of the freezer for ease. This is the perfect bread recipe to go along with it.

Clearly not my piece - not enough butter!


Go visit Carla of Chocolate Moosey or Cathy of My Culinary Mission for the recipe.

19 comments:

Amanda said...

Your bread looks great!

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

It sounds amazing with that European butter... there's nothing better! :)

baker in disguise said...

Mine was perfect with a bowl of stew.. I like the colour of your bread's crust!!

Dawn said...

Oh yeah----lotsa butter was crucial for the full love of this bread! Delish!

Heather said...

Beautiful! I agree, a simple smear of butter was perfect!

Karen @ SoupAddict said...

I wish more American diaries would culture their butter like they do in Europe - it's a minor extra step, but, boy, the results! Perfect for a bread like this.

Kris' Kitchen said...

Your bread is beautiful and with a special butter it must have been a perfect soda bread,

Wendy (pinkstripes) said...

I loved the ease of this recipe. I'm glad it was a hit for you.

Teresa said...

The bread looks great and your menu sounds delicious.

Emily Thome said...

Very pretty! Love that you stayed on task and straight up authentic. I couldn't help but stray. Jealous of the butter!

gorejus gratitude said...

Great bread isn't it? I agree that slathered with butter makes the bread even better. I put Craisins in mine, next time I'll make it plain and have it with home make soup or stew. Check out my blog if you get a chance. Bon Appetit ~
bygore.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

It looks great, and I bet it was wonderful with some European butter on it!

Baking is my Zen...sweet nibbles for the soul said...

Jules,

Your Irish meal sounds great. Will try the recipe (minus the cloves).

European butter...delightful with Irish Soda Bread.

~ Carmen
http://bakingismyzen.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/twd-baking-with-julia-irish-soda-bread

TeaLady said...

This bread was so buttery delicious. Yours looks great.

Kate said...

That looks amazing! Side bread really deserves lashings of butter, that's how I had mine too! Delicious

Cher Rockwell said...

Butter almost seems mandatory on this! Lovely color.

mike509 said...

Jules - what a lovely meal! I'm sure the bread went perfectly with hit. Glad it was a hit for your St. Paddy's Celebration - looks beautiful!

Julia said...

mmm...butter rom Europe. I love the higher fat content.

steph- whisk/spoon said...

i love having a little fancy butter for my bread and toast. makes it so yummy!