I’m reposting this one as it’s a great recipe for St. Patricks Day…
Saint (St.) Patrick’s Day was never a big holiday in my Italian household but it was always a great day for me because of my mom. My mom had always made St. Patrick’s Day special for me because I was her only child without an Italian name. To make me feel special, my mom would always buy me a little something or do something special on St. Patrick’s day to make up for it so while it was not about the food and what was being made it was about how she made me feel important.
I don’t tend to do a lot of Irish cooking, although I can cook just about anything, I just don’t tend to gravitate to Irish food, even for the holiday. I decided that I would revisit an old recipe I had for Irish soda bread and so I found this on from my collection.
I’m unsure of more traditional recipes or if this is the traditional recipe but I will tell you that I love this recipe, maybe it’s the orange zest which brings in the Italian feeling or the currants that make it a little sweet but not overly sweet, or maybe it’s just such a simple recipe that I love that I can whip it up and serve it to impress my friends…nonetheless, it’s a great recipe to try at least once in your life as it’s a no fail recipe for bread that doesn’t use yeast.
I didn’t have buttermilk at home so I made my own, you have to use 1% or higher for your milk and for every cup you add 1 tablespoon lemon or distilled vinegar, I did almost 2 tablespoons, here is my before
then after 5 minutes with the vinegar it looks like this, kind of gross but it works
you add your flour, sugar and baking soda in a bowl
cut up your butter into cubes
add it to your flour
mix until you have small bits and pieces of the buter
to your milk add the orange zest and lightly beaten egg
add your milk to your flour and mix well
add your currants and mix well
dump your mixture onto a floured counter, here is the before
knead for about 3 minutes…here is your after
place on a prepared baking sheet with parchment paper and cut a “cross” with a knife
baked for 45-55 minutes or until done
Let it cool slightly before cutting
I couldn’t wait to cut into this bread and I’m glad I couldn’t it was amazing! I’d say give it a try as it’s not a difficult recipe and it’s always impressive to make your own bread. I would not substitute the currants or orange zest.
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Thank you again ~ Patty Limatola-Tanenbaum
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Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken
- 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- 1 cup dried currants
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour.
- With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Add the currants and mix into the dough. It will be very wet.
- Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with a serrated knife. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound.
- Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.