Irish Soda Bread

St. Patricks Day is tomorrow, do you have your Irish meal all ready to celebrate? I shared a most delicious cupcake recipe that is in no way, shape or form Irish, on Saturday, and now I've made some Irish Soda bread. This bread would make a great side to the dish that I've made for tomorrow...Irish Lamb Stew...yum!

This bread was...different. It appears to be a yeast bread, but it is actually a quick bread. It also appears to have the density of a yeast bread, but it actually eerily reminds me of cornbread. Very much so. It also doesn't bake up "pretty". As you can see in the picture, it's a pretty lumpy loaf of bread. Now, I realize that you're just going to slice it up and slather it in butter, so looks don't really matter, but I'm just weird like that. I like my loaves of bread to be smooth and pretty :)

Despite the lack of "pretty" in this loaf of bread, it really did taste very good. Once you get used to the cornbread consistency, this bread is quite enjoyable! Next time, I think I'm going to try and make this bread in loaf pans though. While the round loaf is fun and different, it makes for some really hu-uge long slices of bread! I found this recipe over at Allrecipes and was very eager to try it! You should whip up a loaf or two for St. Patricks Day, it's always fun to celebrate a holiday with the appropriate foods! 

Ingredients...

...4 c. flour

...4 T. sugar (not pictured)

...1 tsp. baking soda

...1 T. baking powder

...1/2 tsp. salt (not pictured)

...1/2 c. butter, softened

...1 c. buttermilk (I made my own by adding 1 T. lemon juice to 1 c. regular milk)

...1 egg

Directions...

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir to evenly distribute all ingredients. Cut in softened butter. Stir in buttermilk and egg until all ingredients are moistened. Knead dough lightly until everything is evenly incorporated. Shape dough into a round loaf and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cut an "x" in the top of the loaf and brush with milk and butter if desired. Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes. 

To see other really great recipes, be sure to check out Tuesday's at the Table over at All the Small Stuff, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at BlessedwithGrace and Tasty Tuesday over at Beauty and Bedlam!