The Beauty of Irish Soda Bread

Easy, Satisfying & Rustically Beautiful Irish Soda Bread

I will always have a soft spot for Ireland. I love its emerald countryside, the warm, witty people, and the incredible, soulful food. But I love it all the more because Ireland is where my husband asked me to marry him. It was June 2009, and we had travelled to Ireland for the wedding of our dear friends Eoin and Lisa. After the wedding, we drove around Ireland for a few days, stopping one night at Ballymaloe Country House, outside of Cork. It's quite a famous spot, run by Darina Allen, a well-known food celeb in the U.K. (A tangental but funny story: during our extremely quaint countryside dinner there, several SUVs pulled up and out popped Jay-Z and Nelly! Weird, eh?) Down the road is Ballymaloe Cookery School, which has extensive gardens and a farm. Ian and I spent the following morning pottering about there. It was completely idyllic, full of vegetable patches and beautiful flower gardens. At one point we came upon a charming tiny house lined with sea shells – I was awed by its prettiness. Ian says I had a look on my face that said, "now?" As in, "Will you propose now? This place is perfect." I don't recall having that expectation at all, but he'd left the ring in the car so it had to wait. 

Later that day we drove on to our next stop, Waterford Castle, now a hotel and restaurant. When we got there, Ian immediately wanted to go for a drink and a walk. This was when I knew something was up. He was agitated. He downed his drink and mine within minutes and immediately launched us onto our "scenic" promenade. Trouble was, it wasn't so scenic that day. As it goes with Ireland, there'd been a lot of rain, so the path was quite swampy forcing us to walk single file, and it was distractingly buggy. He was clearly looking for the best spot to pop the question, but it wasn't presenting itself, so we finished the walk and went back to the room. The tension was mounting! The proposal happened later that evening, outside the castle before dinner, with a beautiful sunset in the background. It was perfect! So you can see why Ireland will always be special to me.

Okay, that was a lot of back story to get to the point, which is: one of my favourite cookbooks is Darina Allen's. It's a thick compendium of recipes, with lots of great technique information. I always reference it when I'm cooking a roast or making something classic like hollandaise. It was the only place to turn to when looking for something to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, and this most honest of Irish recipes, Soda Bread, seemed the right one to share. It's quick, it's easy – really truly. You have to trust in the simplicity of the recipe because you're going to keep wondering, is it that easy? Did I get it right? It is and you did. And making it provides you with this gratifying knowledge: I baked bread. The bread is dense and chewy and rustic. It's ideal for dunking in a soup or stew. I also sliced it thin and toasted it, slathering it with butter and a pinch of salt. So simple. So perfect. So Irish. Happy St. Patty's Day!

Irish Soda Bread
*adapted from Darina Allen's "Ballymaloe Cookery Course"
3-1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
1-3/4 cups buttermilk 

Preheat oven to 450ºF. Sieve dry ingredients into a medium bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour buttermilk into well. Using one hand, with fingers stiff and outstretched like a claw, stir mixture in a circular movement from the centre to the outside of the bowl in ever-increasing circles, until dough comes together. Dough should be soft and not too wet or sticky. 

Turn dough out onto floured surface. Wash and dry hands. Pat dough into a round ball. Cut a deep cross into the loaf and prick the four corners.  

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 min. then reduce heat to 400ºF and bake for 30 min. more. To test bread doneness, tap the bottom of the loaf; it should make a hollow sound. Place on a cooling rack. Eat within one to two days.