Drum roll! …. We have a WINNER!
On Sunday we entered two breads into the local Irish Soda Bread contest at Now You’re Cooking in Bath, Maine.
The competition was divided into two categories. Traditional Breads and Non-Traditional Breads. We entered one bread into each category.
I was interested in the traditional bread whereas Maria wanted to enter the one with lemon and raisins. It was her favorite when I made the first tryouts.
My bread was not among the three best ones, but Maria’s bread won the Non-Traditional category! Not bad for us two novices trying to figure this out!
The traditional bread is made with only four ingredients; flour, buttermilk or soured milk, baking soda and salt. The non-traditional breads have more ingredients. Butter, eggs, and raisins or other dried fruits are often added, and a popular spice is caraway seeds.
The bread should be round with a rough, golden, crispy crust. It needs to be cut on top to prevent it from splitting. The traditional cut is a simple cross dividing the bread into four sections. The sections are supposed to break off easily, without the bread being too crumbly. The texture should be dense, yet tender and moist, and the flavor should have a slight soda taste. When the bottom is tapped, it should make a hollow sound.
The tryout for Maria’s winning bread was made with normal all-purpose flour. For the competition we used organic whole wheat flour from soft wheat. I had read that soft wheat is the traditional kind used in Irish Soda Bread. The truth is, the bread with the white flour was even better than the winning bread!
The breads were judged by two lady bakers from the area. They looked at the appearance, texture, flavor and ingredients of the breads.
When the judges were done, the breads were cut into small pieces for everyone to taste. The winning lemon-raisin bread is the third to right.
Irish Soda Bread Recipes
Traditional Irish Soda Bread
4 cups wheat flour or all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 ¾ cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425F / 220C.
Lightly grease and flour a cookie sheet.
Whisk together the dry ingredients.
Add buttermilk. Mix quickly into a sticky dough. Add more flour to the surface of the dough, form it into a ball and pat it down into the bowl, then invert the bowl onto the cookie sheet. You now have a perfect round bread. Cut a deep cross into it with the back of a large knife dusted with flour.
Bake about 45 min.
Soda Bread with Raisins and Lemon
4 cups wheat flour or all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp butter
1 cup raisins
lemon
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 ¾ cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425F / 220C.
Lightly grease and flour a cookie sheet.
Whisk together the dry ingredients.
Cut the butter in smaller pieces and add to the flour. Work the butter into the mixture with two knives. Do not use your fingers as they will melt the butter and cause a tough dough.
Mix in the raisins and the zest of one lemon.
Make a well in the mixture and pour in the slightly beaten egg and the buttermilk.
Quickly mix all together into a sticky dough. Do not over-work or knead the dough. With your four-dusted hands, form a ball and dust it with flour. Pat the ball into the bowl and invert it onto the cookie sheet.
You now have a perfect round bread. Cut a deep cross into it with the back of a large knife dusted with flour.
Bake about 45 min.
These breads are great to have any time of the year. They’re fast and easy to make. And the taste is so good!
Happy baking!
~ Marina
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