Irish Soda Bread

Along with making some Irish Stew for St. Patrick's Day, I wanted to give soda bread a try. I know there are many variations and some say it's been too Americanized, but I definitely enjoyed this recipe.

Baking the soda bread was not without it's adventures though. The recipe says to brush with the buttermilk before baking, well that resulted in this burnt piece of work. I thought I had time to take a shower while the bread baked, there's nothing like hearing the smoke alarm go off while you're washing your hair. Alas, I fortunately had enough ingredients and whipped up another.

I've reading Wise Man's Fear right now. The characters eat a lot of stew and bread, so I've been craving stew and bread too. I tried two other soda bread recipes since, and they're just not the same. We'll see if I get called in this weekend and that will probably determine if I make another batch of this particular one. I think I like it so much because it definitely has a nice touch of butter.

Recipe from AllRecipes

INGREDIENTS
* 4 cups all-purpose flour - 17 ounces
* 4 tablespoons white sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 cup buttermilk
* 1 egg

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine. Stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet. Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 30 to 50 minutes.