Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Irish soda bread is an easy to make quick bread that is traditional for St Patrick’s Day celebrations. It’s a great all-purpose bread to make because not only can you put an almost unlimited number of variations on the basic recipe, but it is so easy that anyone can bake it ,no matter how intimidated you are by the thought of baking bread. And since doesn't contain yeast you don't need to wait for it to rise.
Soda Bread Facts:

Although the Irish didn't invent Soda Bread it is most often identified with them.
The "soft wheat" is the only suitable flour that can grow in Ireland's climate, and when mixed like a traditional dough it doesn't form any gluten like a traditional yeast bread, it does work well with a soda bread recipe.

The Idea of using soda to leaven bread was done by the American Indians centuries ago, where they used pearl-ash or Potash( a natural soda in wood ashes) in their breads to make them rise.

The cross on the soda bread has several explanations, Legend has it that folks did it to "let the devil out" while it's baking for good luck, and others say that it made it easy to divide into 4 pieces. It was also a symbol for a cross during Christian holidays. 

On this recipe that I made I used  organic dried zante currants and Hunza golden raisins and I skipped the caraway seeds.

Irish Soda Bread with Golden Raisins and  Dried Currants 

Ingredients:

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup butter softened

1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1/2 cup dried currants

1/2 cup chopped golden raisins

1 tablespoon of butter melted and 2 tablespoon of buttermilk to brush it

How to make it:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F . Lightly grease an oven safe pan. You can use a cast iron pan a round pyrex dish , I used my Le Creuset dutch oven, and that worked really well.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, butter,after its mixed add the currants and raisins . 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 pan. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 2 tablespoon of  buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.

Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Check for doneness after 30 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.

Enjoy,

     Pri =)

Currants and Raisins

Mix the dry ingredients with butter

add the buttermilk and egg

Form into a round 

Ready for oven!

Yum!

Served it with butter or jam. Enjoy!

Fig & Chai Tea Bread - Holiday Baking

First... Sorry for not posting anything here for a while, to be  more specifically since before our 2 week vacation in November. Maybe I should write a blog post about places to visit and eat in Portland and Chicago we had such a great time and we ate delicious food everywhere we went.

Well but for now let's post something useful for the Holidays.

Holiday baking  can be a great way to create personal homemade gifts for people you care about, without getting exhausted by holiday shopping plus it will leave your kitchen smelling so deliciously great.You won't break the bank and can avoid lines and parking lot panic by spending an afternoon at home instead of the mall specially if you are expecting to get hit by a snow storm inside in a warm kitchen is the best place to be.

This year I tried this new recipe for a holiday tea bread and we wrapped with a jar of my winter jam flavor.A Great gift for family, friends and co-workers.


For this recipe I used paper loaf pan  you can order from amazon or buy at your favorite baking supplies store.
these are the ones I used : 6 inch by 2.5 inch by 2 inch loaf pan



Fig and Chai Tea Bread
(this recipe makes about 3 loaf of the size above) 

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups  organic all purpose flour
1 cup of dark brown sugar 
2/3 cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon of ground clove
1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
 a pinch of salt
1 cup of chopped fresh figs
1 cup strong chai tea *see notes
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
a couple of quartered figs to decorate on the top


*  Strong Chai tea: boil 1 1/4 cup of water add 4 bags of chai tea of your choice one cinnamon stick and 1/2 teaspoon of whole cloves and zests of an orange and  let it steep at least an hour, strain it before using  

How to make it:

Buttered your loaf pans and preheat the oven to 350 F.

In your mixer  cream the butter and sugar well and add one egg at a time, beat well. Add the vanilla extract and  the mix.

Mix the salt, baking soda, and spices to the flour and  add the milk to the chai tea

Add the flour mix and the chai/milk to the mixer in 3 parts alternating. 

Gently fold in the chopped figs

Pour batter into the prepared pans, place the quartered figs on top of the batter and press down gently into the batter so they will stay where you want them

Then bake for 50 minutes  or until the skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

 Once is cool off wrap them in cellophane, use some baker's twine and stickers or make your own label to make it pretty. And it's

ready! Enjoy.

Pri

get all of you ingredients

Fig Chai Tea Bread factory in my kitchen

Ready!