Irish Soda Bread
Soda bread falls under the category of baked goods known as quick breads. As their name implies, quick breads require little time to prepare. They are leavened by chemical leaveners and steam, not by yeast, thus requiring no fermentation time. Additionally, they are usually tender products with little gluten development, so mixing them takes just a few minutes.
The ingredients of a traditional soda bread are flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. Sugar and butter are sometimes added to balance the flavor and yield a more tender crumb. Because of Ireland's climate, the wheat grown there is a soft or low-protein variety. Flour with a lower protein content produces a finer crumb and more tender product. Cake flour is a low-protein flour that works well in conjunction with all-purpose flour to produce a bread that is lighter and more tender than using all-purpose flour alone. The addition of buttermilk provides acid, which reacts with the baking soda to form carbon dioxide, which provides leavening. The following recipe relies on the acidity of cream of tartar, as opposed to buttermilk, to react with the baking soda allowing the buttermilk flavor to be more prominent. Using a Dutch oven enhances the crust but baking the bread on sheet pan will also produce a great finished product.
Irish Soda Bread
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 ½ cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1. Place an oven rack in the upper-middle position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine both flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt.
3. With your fingers, combine softened butter and dry ingredients until mixture looks crumbly.
4. Add buttermilk and mix until dough just comes together. Since baking soda reacts instantly with acid it is crucial to mix the dough quickly to prevent carbon dioxide from escaping. However, kneading the dough will cause the bread to be tough. So it is important to work fast but not over mix the dough.
5. Shape the dough into a 6-inch round about 2 inches thick. Place in a buttered Dutch oven and cut a cross into the top.
6. Cover the Dutch oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and finish baking until golden brown and skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, or a thermometer reads 190 degrees, an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
7. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and brush with the melted butter. Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 40 minutes.
