Baking bread with baking soda is a quick and easy way to bring traditional Irish cuisine to your table. As the name suggests, sodium bicarbonate is used in this preparation, instead of yeast. This recipe has become very popular in Ireland, where the cold climate makes it difficult to grow durum wheat, whose flour rises easily thanks to the yeast. Read on and learn how to make a nice Irish loaf of bread.
Ingrediants
- 200 g of flour
- 150 g of durum wheat flour
- 25 g of sugar
- 2, 5 g of Salt
- 7, 5 g of baking powder
- 5 g of Sodium Bicarbonate
- 1 egg
- 250 ml of Buttermilk
- 30 g of Butter
- Flour to work the dough
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Before Kneading
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 190 ° C
Step 2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
In this way, cleaning operations will be much easier. If you don't have parchment paper handy, you can grease the pan with extra virgin olive oil, however you run the risk of the bread sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Step 3. Gather all the tools and ingredients you will need during the preparation
This recipe is very quick to prepare. Dry ingredients can be mixed in seconds. Weigh all the ingredients, break the egg into a bowl and assemble your food processor.
Butter will work easier if removed from the refrigerator a little early. It will not have to be dissolved, it will be enough to bring it to room temperature
Method 2 of 2: Prepare the Dough
Step 1. Pour all dry ingredients into the food processor
Add the flour, durum wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. When all the ingredients are in the food processor, add the butter. Close the robot with the lid and knead the mixture for about 1 minute.
If the butter is still cold, heat it for a few seconds in the microwave. You will just have to soften it, not melt it
Step 2. While the dough is being worked by the robot, add the egg and then the buttermilk
Continue to knead until all the ingredients are well blended. When the dough is ready, flour it and remove it from the food processor container after you have also floured your hands.
Step 3. Work the dough until it forms a ball and place it on the baking sheet, after having lined it with non-stick paper
This operation will only take a few seconds, since the dough will be very malleable at this point in the preparation. Dust it with flour and carve the top by making an 'X' shaped cut with a knife.
Step 4. Place the pan on the center shelf of the oven and bake the bread for about 40 minutes
If you know your oven gets too hot, or cooks food unevenly, act accordingly. Check for doneness often or turn the pan 180 degrees after 20 minutes
Step 5. After 40 minutes, remove the bread from the oven
Let it cool completely by placing it on an inverted fork. This way it will cool down much faster.
Step 6. Cut the bread into slices, or into four wedges following the 'X' incision, and then serve it to the table
Step 7. Finished
Advice
- There are many variations of Irish bread, the recipe in this article is just one of many available. If you have a different one, feel free to modify the article by adding it.
- Buttermilk is a critical element of this recipe, as its acidity will trigger a chemical reaction with the baking soda. If you don't want to use buttermilk, you can simply replace it with 240ml of milk to which you have added a tablespoon of vinegar to make it sour.
- You can vary the recipe by enriching it, add 115 g of raisins and a teaspoon of cumin seeds.
- If you want to make a fun version of Irish bread, suitable for the St. Patrick's Day party, add some green food coloring and serve it, of course, with a green beer! Remember to reassure your guests by saying that everything is edible.
