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29 August 2008

Irish Soda Bread

Soda Bread Soda bread is one of the most essentially Irish foods that I can think of. Indeed, it’s one of the few foods that both Irish people and the world in general see as Irish, unlike corned beef. I, however, have never really mastered making it. I’ve tried a few times before, and generally decided after trying to chew through the stodgy, slightly odd-tasting results, that it wasn’t worthwhile.

However, this time, something went right. After some research - mostly Elizabeth David’s English Bread and Yeast Cookery - I eventually went with the recipe on the back of a packet of Odlums Self-raising Wholemeal Flour. And it worked really well. I took it out after only 30 minutes, rather than the recommended 45, since it was looking done, and the traditional thump-on-the-base test produced a nice hollow sound. Once it had cooled, apart from being hard to cut cleanly, it was good enough to be very pleasing. The texture could, in my mind, do with a little improvement, and I suspect that if I lower the temperature of the oven a little, and bake for a touch longer, I’ll get bread that has less of a threshold from crust to body, and so be less prone to breaking when cut.

I’ll try this exact recipe a few more times to get a feel for it, before I try any other variations. Indeed, I’m not sure there’s much need for variation, if this one works well. I’d like to try for a plain white loaf as well, though, and then go on to yeast breads, assuming I can get yeast to cooperate. And when I have yeast working, it’s time to try sourdough. After that, I reckon, I can try some fancy stuff - croissants, brioches, and the like. The notion of being able to make my own croissants is a very fine one!

I’d like to know what went right this time, too. I suspect that there were a few factors. One was the wholemeal, I think - I’ve always tried white before, and I’m wondering if it’s less forgiving. Second was the oven - while it occasionally doesn’t switch on properly, it’s otherwise excellent. And the last, I think, was using olive oil, which I don’t recall being in the recipes I’ve tried before.

Overall, though, a success, and a good start to developing my breadmaking skills.

posted 29 August 2008 @ 23:48 by Drew Shiel

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