The first time that I baked Irish Bread, it was great. The second time, not so much. Here's to hope that the third time will be great, gluten-free tricks and all.
With the original Star Trek on in the background, I've set out on my own mission of sticking to as traditional an Irish Soda bread recipe as possible: no raisins, (think about it - where would grapes grow in Ireland and be readily available), no seasonings (nutmeg and cinnamon were expensive imports), and NO GREEN DYE (need I say why?). However, as I was rummaging through my refrigerator, much to my chagrin, I had neither buttermilk nor lemons to help me make my own. After a quick google search, I found that yogurt can be modified to make an excellent substitute. Gluten free flower and Greek yogurt aside, it'll be close to traditional...at the very least, the thought is there.
The Ingredients
Pre-organized, this is my gluten-free baking goods gallery, if you will. I like to store all of my g-free flours and sugars away from the gluten products in the pantry. These are essentially all of the goods that will help us to bake! Note that there are no eggs in this recipe. Making this bread frequently may result with happier chickens...(no solid evidence to support that claim.)
From left to right, it was 2.5 cups of g-free flour, one half cup of potato starch, one half a cup of tapioca flour and two tablespoons of Baking Soda. The Irish Soda bread that we know & love today is a relatively recent invention - Baking Soda wasn't around until the mid-19th century and it is the integral leavening agent in the dough that makes the bread rise. (Think on the name a minute to stress the importance of baking soda). There is no yeast in Soda bread, so it needs something else to give it lift. The chemical reaction of the baking soda expanding upon meeting the wetness of the buttermilk is what will cause the bread to rise. That's the power of science, my friends.
The solution to not having buttermilk was to make my own, using Greek Yogurt (yes, it is Chobani - no, turning the yogurt tub was not intentional) and water. Equal parts of Greek Yogurt to water make a great substitute for buttermilk. I did end up adding a bit more yogurt because I'm familiar with the consistency of buttermilk, but if you decide to follow this quasi recipe, please feel free to write me for exact measurements as I wouldn't want anyone to have any Irish Soda Bread catastrophes due to my poor late-night instructions.
After mixing the ingredients and kneading the dough to press out any air bubbles, I slit the crosses into the mini-loaves. There are two stories that I've heard to explain why we make dividends in the bread: the first, by making a cross in the bread that one intends to consume, a family is forbidding the devil from entering the household and welcoming the Holy into their homes. The second - by making these cuts, it provides fairies an escape hatch so that they don't burn up in the oven. It would appear as though fairies have a tendency of dancing in dough.
Into the oven these fairy-free treats proceeded, ready to tan at 350*!
Almost one full Star Trek episode later, the mini-breads came out of the oven. Normally, the bread is supposed to be darker than this, but after baking for 40 minutes, I was becoming a bit nervous, so I removed them. However, after tasting one with a delicious jam spread, I'm likely to pop them in the oven tomorrow morning for another 5-10 minutes before taking them to be shared at the office.
The moral of this late night blog (if there is any) is to work with me and you'll randomly and frequently receive delicious gluten free baked goods.
Until Wednesday my dear readers,
Your humble author,
S. Faxon
PS - Happy St. Patrick's Day! Eat your soda bread and get your Guinness!
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