2000s Recipes + Menus
Downey's Soda Bread
Makes3 (16-inch-long loaves)
- Active time:30 min
- Start to finish:2 1/2 hr (includes cooling)
ADAPTED FROM DOWNEY'S
March 2009
Baguette-like loaves make this Irish classic easy to slice, providing perfectly sized portions.
- 5 cups whole-wheat flour (preferably stone-ground)
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
- 2 1/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk at room temperature
- 2 large eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten
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Accompaniments:
crème fraîche; jam
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Preheat oven to 425ºF with rack in middle.
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Blend flours, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and butter in a large bowl with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.
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Stir in buttermilk and eggs until a smooth dough forms. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and divide into 3 pieces. Form each piece into a 16-inch-long log and arrange, evenly spaced, on a lightly floured baking sheet. Generously sprinkle with flour and cut 3 diagonal shallow slashes on each log with a very sharp knife.
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Bake 30 minutes, then reduce oven to 375ºF and continue to bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
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Transfer loaves to a rack to cool. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Cooks’ note: Soda bread is best the day it is made, but loaves can be tightly wrapped in 2 layers of foil and frozen 1 month. Refresh, wrapped in foil, in a 325ºF oven until heated through, about 20 minutes.
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