St. Patty’s Day is just around the corner and in our family,
that’s a reason to celebrate! Growing up Irish with the bright red hair to show
it, I learned the importance of family and tradition at an early age. One of my
favorite Irish traditions is baking Soda Bread – a must-have for St. Patrick’s
Day! The best part of baking soda bread is that you don’t have to wait for it
to rise like you would with a yeast bread. In fact, from start to finish it
only takes about an hour. My family loves it and I hope yours does too!
Traditional Irish
Soda Bread
Prep time
20 mins
Cook time
10 mins
Total time
30 mins
Serves: 1 8-inch loaf (8 servings)
Ingredients
- 4 cups
flour
- 2
teaspoon baking soda
- 1
teaspoon salt
- 1 3/4
cups buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat
oven to 425 degrees. Grease and flour a round cake pan.
- In a
large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.
- Gradually
stir in the buttermilk until the dough comes together in a slightly sticky
ball.
- Turn
dough onto a floured surface and knead gently a few times.
- Form
the dough into a ball and then press into the prepared pan so that the
dough resembles a large disk. The dough should reach the edges of the pan,
but may spring back slightly.
- Cut an
X into the dough with a sharp knife, about 1/4 of an inch deep. Cover the
pan of dough with another round cake pan turned upside down.
- Bake
for 30 minutes, covered, then remove the top pan and bake uncovered for
about 10 minutes more or until the crust is dark golden brown.