For most Americans, Irish soda bread is a once-a-year treat around St. Patrick?s Day.
“I vividly remember my mother baking soda bread every St. Patty?s Day to accompany the corned beef and cabbage dinner,” said Betty Walke, of Catonsville. “She used a recipe that contained caraway seeds, raisins and sometimes orange peel as ingredients.”
For Ed O?Dwyer, Irish soda bread is more than a holiday treat. It is a life passion.
“I went to various baking competitions overthe years and was amazed at what people were passing off as soda bread,” he said.
O?Dwyer, who moved to the U.S. from Tipperary, Ireland, in 1958, has made it his quest to correct any and all misconceptions about soda bread through his Web site, www.sodabread.us.
“Probably the most common misconception is that it is a dessert. People put sugar and spice, raisins and lots of things associated with making cake rather than a staple bread item,” he said.
The history of Irish soda bread is fairly new, just dating back to the late 1800s.
“It is made easily with flour, baking soda and buttermilk or just ordinary milk that has gone off, or sour ? a frequent occurrence in summer days before refrigerators,” said John Murphy, author of “The Little Irish Cookbook” and editor of www.irelandseye.com.
“The ingredients have to be mixed quickly since the acid in the milk starts to work at once on the baking soda to release carbon dioxide to provide the rising action,” Murphy said. “The bubbles expand when the dough is baked, so no kneading is required.”
The ingredients are a sticking point for O?Dwyer. “Once you add raisins to the ingredient list, it becomes known as ?spotted dog.? I?ve even seen chocolate chips, dried fruit and jalapenos show up in Irish soda bread.”
Mary Alice Walke’s Irish Soda Bread
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons shortening
2/3 cup raisins, brown, golden or mixed
2 teaspoons caraway
1 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and sugar. Using a pastry blender or fingertips, work the shortening into the flour until balls form the size of small peas. Stir in the raisins and caraway and mix to distribute evenly. Gradually stir in the buttermilk, 1/4 cup at a time, using only enough to allow the dough to come together. Knead the dough for one to two minutes. Shape the dough into a round loaf and place on a greased baking sheet. Cut an X on the top and over the sides of the loaf. Bake for 45 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a rack.
