Katie Cooks: Irish Soda Bread edition

Happy St. Patrick's Day! A day when even people of German origins can pretend to be Irish. I sent my youngest off to school today wearing her St. Patrick's shirt, a green sweater, green socks, and even a green pony tail holder in her short hair. Her school is having a contest to see which class is wearing the most green. It's all about winning.

Katie is lamenting that we don't live in Ireland today - St. Patrick's is a national holiday there - banks, government, and schools are closed. Katie is in the basement doing school work. We can pretend to be Irish, but we will not pretend to live in Ireland.

This morning, in honor of the holiday, we made Irish Soda bread. I don't know how Irish the breaad is...but it has Irish in the name and that's good enough for me. There is no way that I am cooking (or that the kids would eat) corned beef and cabbage...so a little Irish soda bread to go with our chicken casserole tonight is just the ticket.

First, Katie measured out all the dry ingredients:

And then she added the buttermilk. And because she is the curious sort...she wanted to know what the difference is between buttermilk and regular milk. So...she decided to take a sip and see: This experiment was quickly followed by large gulps of water and the swishing out of her mouth.
Next, it's time to get your hands sticky and knead the bread:

After cooking...beautiful and yummy soda bread:

Here is our simple recipe:

Irish Soda Bread

4 cups of flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375. Grease an 8inch round cake pan.

Mix all dry ingredients.

Add buttermilk and stir with a fork until the dough holds together in a rough mass.

Knead for about 30 seconds, then put the bread into the pan - patting into an 8 inch round - about 1 1/2 inches thick.

With a sharp knife, slash a large 1/4 inch deep X across the top.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until nicely browned and the X has spread open.

Transfer to a rack to cool and then wrap in a slightly damp towel and let it rest on the rack for about 8 hours. Soda bread should be served completely cooled.