Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread
This is a great bread to make if you’re new to baking.
The dough is simple and comes together in minutes without any requirements to knead the dough. And, because of the lack of yeast, you won’t have to wait around while the dough proofs and rises. All that’s necessary is to mix the dry and wet ingredients, form the dough into a ball or loaf, then put it in the oven and bake it. After an hour or so, your kitchen will be filled with the aromas of freshly baked bread carried by the escaping steam as you break
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This is a great bread to make if you’re new to baking.
The dough is simple and comes together in minutes without any requirements to knead the dough. And, because of the lack of yeast, you won’t have to wait around while the dough proofs and rises. All that’s necessary is to mix the dry and wet ingredients, form the dough into a ball or loaf, then put it in the oven and bake it. After an hour or so, your kitchen will be filled with the aromas of freshly baked bread carried by the escaping steam as you break open the warm bread and reveal a moist and crumbly interior…perfect with a spoon of jam on a slice.
Some versions of Irish soda bread include raisins in the dough as a variation, but this is not the classical preparation. Instead, raisin-filled soda bread is called a ‘spotted dog’ – a strange name but also delicious.
Irish soda bread can be made on a baking tray, in a loaf pan or a ceramic oven-proof pot with a tight-fitting lid. I prefer to use the pot method because I like the extra crispy crust created from the trapped steam and the soft and crumbly interior.
Difficulty: simple
Yield: makes one large loaf…about 1 kilogram