Here's a lovely simple recipe to make an Irish classic: brown soda bread. The recipe comes from the Irish Emmy-nominated television chef and food writer Catherine Fulvio, who got it in turn from her mother, Mary, who got it from her own mother, Kitty.
Catherine is a friend of CIE Tours - she runs Ballyknocken House and Cookery School. You can visit Ballyknocken for a special farm-to-table cooking experience when you travel with CIE.
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups plain white flour
- 2 cups stone ground whole-meal flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1 level teaspoon baking soda
- 2 level teaspoons oil (a non-scented oil i.e. no olive oil)
- 10 fl oz sour milk or buttermilk
HOW TO MAKE:
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Oil loaf pan.
- Mix dry ingredients well making sure to get air into the flour. Be sure to sieve the baking soda as any lumps will result in green bread, rather than brown bread! Add oil and most of the milk and mix. The texture should that of “medium thick oatmeal”. When lifted up on a wooden spoon, it should plop off – if it doesn’t fall off the spoon, add more milk. If it runs off the spoon, add more flour.
- Place the pan in the center of a preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes approximately. It should be easily removable from the pan and should sound hollow when tapped underneath. This means that it is cooked to perfection – allow to cool and then eat with some smoked Irish salmon, or some local cheese or simply with homemade jam.
Thank you to Catherine and the team at Ballyknocken Cookery School.
