A Little Irish Flavor

I started a side business selling cupcakes in December. So while I've been doing a lot of cooking, I have not had much of a chance to blog about it. Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, I thought I would talk about Irish Soda Bread. I loved it when I had it in Ireland and have been trying to find a recipe to duplicate it for a while. I finally hit upon it when I made this Julia Child recipe with a a twist. The original recipe had all white flour but I found that if I substituted 2 cups of whole wheat flour, it gave me just the right flavor and consistency.

Irish Soda Bread is great because it's really easy to make. There is no kneading and no waiting for it to rise. In fact, it's better the less you do to it. I just barely combine all of the ingredients, shape it into a rough ball and bake it. It'll last for a few days if you wrap it with a piece of cloth and store it at room temperature.

So here's my recipe:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 375. Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the buttermilk and blend until the mixture starts to come together. On a floured surface, place the dough and knead 10 times. Shape into a ball and place on a greased baking sheet. Cut a cross into the top 1/2 inch of the ball and bake for 50. Cool the bread and then serve with butter and your favorite jam.