February 12, 2010 - 3:41pm
ISO a tried and true recipe for Irish Soda Bread
I have tried to make Irish Soda Bread from recipes that I've found on the net and none of them have been any good. They have all been dry and fairly tasteless. I was wandering if anyone here has a good recipe that I might try before I give up on soda bread completely. I was thinking that maybe I would try replacing some of the flour in the recipe with almond flour and see if that didn't add a little flavor and moisture.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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I just saw this recipe and was going to make it this weekend. It got great reviews
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/irish-soda-bread-recipe/index.html
I love her recipes, I'll give it a try. Thanks...
In his _Bread_, Hamelman has a formula for Irish soda bread that he brought back from the Irish bakery where he worked and was responsible for making several troughs[1] of dough per day. However, you will also want to read his note on the general unavailability of Irish buttermilk in the US, which does affect things.
sPh
[1] Yes, you read "troughs" correctly! Be sure to read the notes that go along with the formula.
I'm guessing this is a book...one I don't have. I live in rural Texas, the closest town big enough to have a library is 70 miles away. Is this article anywhere on the internet that you know of? I did a google search for it and came up empty, but then I'm on dial-up so it will take some time to do a through search.
Well, King Arthur is always a good place to check. Their test kitchen posts this recipe:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/irish-soda-bread-recipe
Hamelman recommends replacing 20% of the buttermilk (by weight) in an American-Irish soda bread recipe (such as this one) with heavy cream or yoghurt to try to simulate Irish buttermilk.
The King Arthur Bakers Circle forum has some discussions also:
http://www.bakingcircle.com/msgboard/index.jsp?pv=111
I wasn't able to find anything with a quick search of Rose Levy's site
http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/
but there are probably some receipes in there somewhere too.
sPh
If you are looking for a true Irish Soda bread it does not have almond flour...there's a lot of discussion on what goes in and what doesn't on irish soda bread. If mixed carefully with a delft hand (iron fist, velvet glove) you will have a lovely moist tasting Irish soda bread. I have a recipe with photos on my blog if you care to take a peek http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/11028/sylvia0395-irish-soda-bread hope it helps. Making good soda bread takes a little practice.
Sylvia
Thank you both...I'll take my time next week and read up on soda bread. I really appreciate the help.
Here's Cook's Illustrated's recipe...tested a zillion times...enjoy!
Classic Irish Soda Bread
Yields 1 loaf. Published March 1, 1997.
Fresh out of the oven, this bread is a great accompaniment to soups or stews, and leftovers make fine toast.
3 cups bleached all-purpose flour , plus more for work surface
1 cup cake flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 tablespoons softened + 1 tablespoon melted)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Instructions
1.
1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in large bowl. Work softened butter into dry ingredients with fork or fingertips until texture resembles coarse crumbs.
2.
2. Add buttermilk and stir with a fork just until dough begins to come together. Turn out onto flour-coated work surface; knead until dough just becomes cohesive and bumpy, 12 to 14 turns. (Do not knead until dough is smooth, or bread will be tough.)
3.
3. Pat dough into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches high; place on greased or parchment-lined baking sheet or in cast-iron pot, if using. Place the loaf on a cookie sheet and cut a cross shape into the top.
4.
4. Bake until golden brown and a skewer inserted into center of loaf comes out clean or internal temperature reaches 180 degrees, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter; cool to room temperature, 30 to 40 minutes.
This sounds good...
I finally got around to making the soda bread tonight to go with a pot of potato soup...it was wonderful. Thank you all so much for your help.
www.sodabread.info it has great recipes and talks about origin, etc also. great site
I enjoyed reading that...:)