Fully Irish Bread

I've made Irish soda bread often, usually using the recipe given to me by Aunt May, a woman fully Irish and a great baker. The version of soda bread that I made recently is fully Irish because it's made with King Arthur Baking's Irish wholemeal flour which has flecks of bran and wheatgerm in it. It adds texture, flavor, and makes it just a bit crumbly, which I love.

As long as you have buttermilk (which not everyone does) and that specialty flour, most of the rest of the ingredients are pantry and fridge staples. I did tweak the recipe a bit by adding a 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans. This addition is particularly noticeable when the bread is warm. I've yet to try toasting a slice, but I bet that would be even better...warm and toasty. Yum! If you don't have the wholemeal flour, substitute whole wheat flour, or even just another cup of all-purpose. Lack of whole grain flour should not stop you from making this wonderful quick bread.

As with other quick breads where you want the bread to be tender, the less you handle this dough the better. Because you're also going for a rustic, craggy look, just pat the dough into roughly a round, cut that deep cross in the center and call it good. As the bread bakes it will become a bit more solid with a wonderful golden brown crust. Butter, jam, lemon curd and fruit are all great toppings for a slice. Just let it cool 10 or 15 minutes before slicing. Too warm soda bread will just fall apart if you slice it too soon!

Irish Soda Bread with Wholemeal Flour and Pecans

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup King Arthur Baking Irish Wholemeal flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons sugar

8 oz. (1 stick) cold butter, in thin slices

½ cup finely chopped pecans

2 cups  plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl sift the dry ingredients over the butter and cut in well with a fork or pastry blender. Add the pecans ; mix well. Add the buttermilk and mix just until moist - don’t over-handle. Some dry stuff is OK but the dough should be sticky. Pat into a round on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Cut a cross on top. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees F. Cool a bit before slicing.