Irish Soda Bread

Ok, I know it's almost a week after St. Patrick's day. And lets be honest, what other day do we eat corned beef, soda bread, or stewed vegetables. If you're like me, that's never. My cousin helped me come to this realization a few days ago, Irish food, "pub grub" is really good, but we just don't eat it on a normal basis. It's kind of a shame, because I have always really enjoyed Irish soda bread.

Well, that's somewhat a lie, I actually hated it as a kid. I hated raisins, and it tasted to bland for my solely processed sugar palate. But now I can't get enough of it. The best kind of soda bread is a little chewy on the inside, but perfectly crunchy and crumbly on the outside. So as St. Patty's rolled around, I knew it was time to make my first Irish Soda Bread. 

I did a lot of research actually before I got baking. I found that there are actually two kinds of Irish soda bread, the Irish kind, and the American. The Irish is pretty bland, just flour, salt, buttermilk, and baking soda. I found out that the bread was made up in Ireland because the Irish weren't big on yeast. So when baking soda was discovered the Irish found it was a quick and easy way to leaven bread, without their dreaded yeast. In the US, they Irish immigrants brought over the recipe and of course, the Americans had to add their own flair. They made it sweeter, by adding a little sugar and raisins. Still having the sweet tooth I did as a kid, I prefer the latter. And I decided to be just like those immigrants and add a touch more of Bella into the bread by adding a few more flavors to this one recipe I found and liked on the Food Network site.

So this bread is more of a non-traditional, American-style Irish soda bread. Even though it is not that much sweeter, if you prefer the more traditional bread, just take out the cranberries and honey. But I got a really good response from this recipe. We had a few friends come over for a St. Patrick's day dinner, and it was completely gone by the time everyone left! So enjoy my non-traditional soda bread, even if it's not Saint Patty's day, you can still enjoy the little sprinkle of Irish in everyone. 

Non-Traditional Irish Soda Bread:

3 cups plus extra flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

4 tbsp unsalted butter, slightly cooler than room temperature, cubed

1 cup raisins

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 8 or nine inch round pan with parchment paper, covering all sides and with extras on the top. 

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Rub in the butter with your fingers until all the lumps of butter are gone. Stir in the raisins and cranberries.

In a small bowl, beat the buttermilk, honey, vanilla, and egg with a whisk. Fold into the raisin mixture until a sticky dough forms.

Transfer the dough onto a floured surface. Knead the dough gently, not more than 4 times, until it forms a ball/ round shape. Place dough into the lined pan, and lightly sprinkle the top with flour. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 and cook for about 20 more minutes, or until the top of the bread is browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Serve immediately.

Just a side note-if you do have leftovers, they do not keep well past the first day. I recommend putting the rest in a freezer safe bag and storing it in the freezer. This bread makes a lovely toast. Enjoy!

Scottish Shortbread

The Scots got one thing right-their shortbread. Let me brief you a little on this fantastic tea-time treat. There are basically two kinds of shortbread, the thinner kind that is usually a denser, crunchier cookie, or there's the thicker, chewier kind as well. I like both, but right now with the cold weather and everything, I'm always craving a perfectly soft, warm buttery cookie right out of the oven. The kind you can savor each bite, while it melts in your mouth and satisfies your palette. Yep, the Scottish definitely scored big time with this one.

This recipe is super easy. There aren't any complex instructions or hard to find ingredients. As long as you don't fear making dough (which I did for the longest of time), this recipe will be a great after-work snack to make. The only important thing is to make sure you score the dough with a knife prior to baking, then cut it completely right after it comes out of the oven. This will insure that the pieces don't fall apart, and the dough won't rise. One other thing, you should really let them cool in the pan before you eat one, but if you're impatient like me, just stick it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to let it firm up.

Yeah not my best picture, it was so rushed because everyone was lining up to get some! I couldn't even let it cool all the way!

So let's just take a minute to thank the Scottish. I actually found out somewhat recently I have some Scottish heritage on my mom's side, which also spurred me to make this recipe. Let's also thank Baking Bites, which is where I got my recipe. The pics on that blog are a lot better than mine. I was in kind of a rush so i only got about 1 or two. Other than that, I really hope you enjoy this recipe. It goes really nice with a glass of milk or hot tea, a blanket, and a good book. Enjoy, and "here's tae us, wha's like us? Damned few an' they're a' deid", which is a classic Scottish toast, according to Ominglot. :)

Scottish Shortbread:
3 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350. Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt until blended. Put mixture in a food processor. Mix in the butter and vanilla until mixture forms a sandy texture. (Alternate method for those patient enough to try: Rub in the butter and vanilla with your hands). If dough is too dry, mix in a tablespoon of cold water, or more, to make the dough come together. Press dough firmly into a 9x9 inch pan, making sure it is even on all sides. Lightly score the dough with a knife, making squares/bars (which will be the shortbread's serving size after it bakes). Bake about 30 minutes, or until lightly golden. Immediately cut all the way into the knife marks made earlier. DO NOT REMOVE FROM PAN, at least until cooled. Serve warm, or store in an airtight container. Enjoy!