Irish Soda Bread

I am not even a little bit Irish. I laugh when I see clearly non-Irish people (think small Asian women like myself) decked out in green top hats and shamrock Mardi Gras beads on St. Patty's Day. Nevertheless, I suppose the holiday has become a celebration ingrained in American culture, which is completely fine by me. I am certainly not one to turn down a Murphy's Irish Red or Guinness midweek.

My first exposure to the magic of St. Patrick's Day was in elementary school. Every March 17th, Patricia Ceccarelli's mom would pack Irish Soda Bread for Pat to share with the class. The combination of the sweet bread and the barely solid butter (it had been softening all day in a tupperware) at the end of the day was ecstasy. I knew nothing about the holiday, nor did I care, but DAMN, that bread was good.

Ever since Patricia stopped being my classmate, I have always made sure to find Irish Soda Bread in March. Maciek, a family friend and caretaker of mine for many years, would pack me Irish Soda Bread slices--pre-buttered!!!!-- for lunch in high school around St. Patty's Day. Whenever Middlebury dining serves it, I always steal a loaf. This year, I decided to try my hand at the time-honored Irish tradition. Thank's to Marilyn's Hippie Bread book, I was able to make one of the best loaves I've ever tried-- it's crunchy on the outside, but rich, soft, and crumbly on the inside. I will definitely be making this recipe all year round for breakfast and teatime bread.



Recipe for Irish Soda Bread from The Garden Way Bread Book (the best Hippie Bread Book ever, really. I recommend buying it, especially if you are a bread beginner.)

Ingredients

- 3 cups unbleached white flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 sticks butter, cold
- 2 cups raisins or currants (or less if you don't want it to be very raisiny)
- 1 eggs
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 cup buttermilk

1. Sift (or just combine) the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.

2. Cut the butter into cubes and add it to the bowl. Cut into the mixture with a pastry blender until the flour and butter combine to make pea-size lumps. Alternatively, you can do this in a food processor if you have one.

3. Toss in the raisins and/or currants.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg until it becomes very frothy. Add the honey and whisk until incorporated. Add the buttermilk and whisk one last time to make sure the mixture is homogeneous.

5. Little by little, add the wet mixture to the butter, flour, and raisin mixture. Use two forks to toss the dough and distribute the liquid evenly. The dough will come together as a lumpy mixture, but this is good. It shouldn't be totally smooth and it's okay if everything isn't evenly incorporated. The dough should be moist, but not excessively wet.

6. Spoon the dough into a greased cast-iron skillet, casserole dish, or pie plate. I used a pie plate because that's what we have, and it worked just fine, even if it's a little nontraditional. Smooth out the top with a wooden spoon and place into a 350 degree oven for one hour. The bread is done when it is totally browned on the top and is set in the middle. If you aren't sure that it's done, stick a toothpick in the middle to check for raw dough. Or, cut out a slice. Or, just take it out and toast any pieces that may be a little raw. It's all going to be delicious.

Normally, I slather my bread with butter, but this recipe is so rich and moist that I really didn't need or want it. Eat it on its own for breakfast, snack, or tea. I enjoyed mine with a tall glass of milk. As the Garden Way suggests, "serve it to a lot of people so you won't eat it all yourself."




Peace, love, and Irish Soda Bread,

Morgan

P.S.: Sorry there aren't any pictures of the whole loaf-- Mar and I attacked it immediately.

Kelsey's Honey Oat Bread

It has been the dreariest week of the year in Middlebury. It's been snowy, rainy, icy, and grey. I feel tired and overworked. Boo. Determined to cheer myself up for the weekend, I decided to bake some bread this afternoon after class.

This honey oat bread is one of the first breads I baked with Kelsey. It's wonderfully fluffy, soft, and sweet. It's great with just a bit of butter and honey, but it's also satisfying as sandwich bread.




Kelsey's Honey Oat Bread (yields 2 loaves)

- 1 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup oats
- 1/3 cup honey
- about a tablespoon salt, maybe slightly less
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- about 5 cups flour

1. Mix the yeast, 1/4 cup of water, and a squirt or two of honey to wake up the yeast. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, or until it bubbles and froths.

2. Mix in the remaining water, honey, oil, and salt.

3. Add the flour one cup at a time. When the mixture is too thick to stir with a spoon, start incorporating the flour with your hands. Massage your dough! It feels nice. The dough has taken enough flour once it comes together to form a ball and is neither sticky nor dry.

4. Kneading time! Knead your bread until it's smooth, soft, and springy to the touch. For a denser bread, shorten the kneading time. If you want a very fluffy bread, knead for ten minutes or longer (or until you are bored). You now have a bread baby!

5. Put the bread baby in a large, greased bowl. Make sure the bread baby is nicely oiled so it doesn't dry out. Let the bread baby rise in the bowl covered with a clean dish towel, preferably in a warm place.

6. Allow the bread baby to double in size. Cut it in two and form the dough into two loaves in greased loaf pans. Cover the pans and let the bread proof for about an hour, or until it has risen slightly above the edge of the pan.

7. Bake the loaves at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 40 minutes, or until the loaves make a hollow sound when tapped. Place them on cooling racks and enjoy! I chose to drizzle mine with honey.




Peace, love, and honey oat bread,

Morgan

Rosemary Garlic Rolls

And now, for something completely different...a savory recipe!

I really love sweet breads, but sometimes savory really hits the spot. I've decided to experiment with some rosemary olive bread recipes. However, I decided to try adding garlic instead of olives because olives really turn some people off. Given an olive loaf, Mar and I would eat the whole thing in 10 seconds flat. So, this is really just a way of making sure we don't load up on carbs this week :]




Ingredients

- 1 cup warm milk
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon sugar or honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for brushing and coating
- a few cups of flour (I think I ended up using 4 or so), plus extra for kneading
- 2-3 teaspoons salt
- a couple tablespoons of garlic
- a couple tablespoons of dried rosemary (if you use fresh, use more)

1. Stir the milk, yeast, and yeast food (i.e., your sweetener) in a large bowl. Wait a couple of minutes until the yeast starts to bubble and froth.

2. Add the olive oil. Stir in the flour, cup by cup, until the dough comes together and is slightly sticky, but not wet. You will most likely need to use your hands to mix the dough after the second or third cup of flour.

3. Knead your dough on a clean, lightly floured surface. The dough should combine to be smooth and springy to the touch. Form the dough into a bread baby (a nice ball), coat it generously with olive oil, and place it into a clean bowl to rise. The bread baby should be loosely covered with a clean dishcloth and should rise for about an hour, or until it essentially doubles in size.

4. Near the end of the rising, mince the garlic. If you want, chop a half cup of kalamata olives, too. I chose to leave them out because 2 of my roommates aren't the biggest fans of them. Once the bread baby has doubled in size, knead in the garlic, rosemary, and optional olives. Grease a 16-muffin muffin tin with olive oil. Cut the bread baby into 16 equal pieces, roll them into individual balls, and place them into the greased muffin tins. Cover the tins and allow the dough to proof for an hour.

5. Brush the rolls with olive oil. Bake them in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Enjoy them with olive oil or butter as a savory snack, or use them to wipe up pasta sauce!




Peace, love, and cute little rolls,

Morgan

Smitten Kitchen's Crispy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Mar and Kels baked cookies last night, so I decided to take pictures. They're not exactly bread, but they're delicious! Check out the recipe at http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/03/crispy-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies. These are honestly the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever tasted.





Peace, love, and cookies,

Morgan