I've never eaten Irish soda bread, but I was intrigued when I saw it on the Mellow Bakers' December list. A non-yeasted bread in Hamelman's book? A bread that can be made in just an hour?
At first I thought it sounded like a very convenient accompaniment to soup, perfect for those nights when we really want soup, but don't have any bread; usually we have to wait until the next day. Then I talked to my dad, who informed me that Irish soda bread (at least the kind my aunt used to make) was a sweeter bread, better for breakfast, great for French toast, not good for soup.
So I figured I'd make it tonight and then plan the rest of dinner accordingly depending on how it turned out.
I mixed ground up multigrain flakes (I couldn't find wheat flakes, so I used a combination of wheat, barley, and oat flakes), white pastry flour, whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt with a little buttermilk and yogurt. And then I baked it for about 25 minutes.
The results? This was not soup bread and it wasn't French toast bread. It didn't taste like bread at all. Hubby tried a piece and cleared up the mystery: it tastes just like a buttermilk biscuit. Once we figured that out, we tried it with butter and honey. Yep, biscuity. Don't think we'll be making this one again.
Like you, I had heard of it and tried it when my kids were at home. I used just unbleached flour. It is still my daughter's favorite and she now makes it. We eat it with soups and stews. Try another recipe. <:3 Jenny
ReplyDeleteMy Irish Soda Bread has different ingredients and is somewhat scone-like and we love it like that. This one looks interesting, but the ingredient list throws me a bit as I am so used to my recipe. Good to see it done this way, yours looks great. Have you dug out yet from all the snow????
ReplyDeleteThis bread is still on my list - have baked too many other things and didn't have time for the soda bread yet. Maybe tomorrow for "Coffee and Cake" with some butter and honey on it?
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