Brown Butter Soda Bread

In my quest for the perfect soda bread, I was anxious to try this recipe (another one from Bon Appétit via Epicurious) - especially since I happen to grow rosemary in my herb garden. Although it is a far cry from traditional soda bread in terms of flavor, the texture of both crust and inside is very similar. I followed the advice of those who reviewed the recipe and just stirred the dough instead of kneading, which kept the loaves soft. Unfortunately my oven continues to be unruly in its heat distribution (I set it for about 360 and it was running at 400 the first time I checked the bread!), so this batch got a little dried out, but these free-form loaves are definitely worth repeating, especially if I'm going to have company over and would like some bread to serve with a spread of olive oil, cheeses, and fruit.

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (can use part wheat flour as well - I used about 1 1/2 cups wheat)
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper plus additional for topping
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
1 egg white, beaten to blend

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Stir butter in heavy small saucepan over medium heat until melted and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir flour, oats, sugar, rosemary, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in large bowl to blend. Pour buttermilk and melted browned butter over flour mixture; stir with fork until flour mixture is moistened.

Either 1) turn dough out onto floured work surface and knead gently until dough comes together, about 7 turns, OR 2) work dough with fork until thoroughly (but not overly) mixed.

Divide in half. Shape each half into ball; flatten each into 6-inch round. Place rounds on ungreased baking sheet, spacing 5 inches apart. Brush tops with beaten egg white. Sprinkle lightly with ground black pepper. Using small sharp knife, cut 1/2-inch-deep X in top of each dough round.

Bake breads until deep golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool breads on rack at least 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Photo credit: Me (Leeann, for once :P)

Brown Soda Bread

My (Leeann’s) recent trip to Ireland coupled with cooler nights that make me want to use my oven have resulted in a quest to perfect a vital part of Irish cuisine – soda bread.

The first recipe I tried (from a ’96 issue of Bon Appétit via Epicurious.com) is a basic brown soda bread very similar to the fare served in cafes, restaurants and pubs I visited throughout my trip. Great with your favourite preserves or just toasted with butter, one of the benefits of most soda breads is that little to no rising and/or kneading is required – making preparation a breeze.

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons toasted wheat bran (I couldn’t find this so just doubled the wheat germ – turned out fine insofar as I could tell!)
3 tablespoons toasted wheat germ
2 tablespoons old-fashioned oats
2 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 cups (about) buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425°F. Butter 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Combine first 8 ingredients in large bowl; mix well. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until mixture resembles fine meal. Stir in enough buttermilk to form soft dough. Transfer dough to prepared loaf pan. Bake until bread is dark brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Turn bread out onto rack. Turn right side up and cool on rack.

Photo credit: The talented Emily A.

Irish Cream Bars

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day... I (Leeann) made this Friday, and it turned out to be a splendid crowd-pleaser! It’s heavy enough that you don’t have to make a lot of it because one bar per person is plenty (usually), but it is a delectable post-dinner treat that goes wonderfully with coffee. My people knew what they were doing when they invited Irish cream.

Heat oven to 350. Mix together the following until a soft dough forms:

¾ cup flour
½ cup butter or margarine, softened (I used butter)
¼ cup powdered sugar (we didn’t have it, so I substituted 1/8 cup of white sugar)
2 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa

Press crust into ungreased square pan and bake for 10 minutes.
While that’s cooking, combine:

¾ cup sour cream
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup Irish cream (and an extra splash for good measure)
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon vanilla (which means 1 tablespoon if you’re me)
1 egg

Whisk together until blended. Pour over baked crust, and return to oven for 15-20 minutes or until filling is set. Cool, then refrigerate until firm (2 hours recommended before cutting).

Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles if desired.