Wholemeal Irish Soda Bread

courtesy of Sue Van Slooten

Directions

• Stir together the flour, soda, salt in a large bowl.
• Cut in the shortening/butter with a pastry blender until it looks like coarse meal.
• Add all of the wholemeal flour, stir, then add the buttermilk, raisins and seeds.
• When a slightly stiff dough forms, turn out onto a floured board and knead for 3-5 minutes. I found it came together quite quickly and only needed the 3 minutes. Shape it into a round and place in a well greased 8- or 9-inch cake pan. With a sharp knife, slash an “X” into the top, about 1/4- to 1/2-inch deep.
• Bake in a 375 degrees Fahrenheit in a convection oven, or 400 degrees conventional oven, for 45 to 55 minutes. The loaf should be quite brown when done. Be careful not to under bake, as it will then be doughy in the center. Cool on a wire rack. Good served plain, or as mentioned, with butter and jam.

Top ‘o the Morning to You! This wholemeal Irish soda bread is a great way to start off your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations for all actual and aspiring Irish folk.

This bread hearkens back to a time when Irish soda bread was a more rustic, country affair, not all gussied up with mostly white flour. Traditionally, the Irish didn’t have a lot of white flour, and the loaves were a bit coarser and darker, but also healthier. Let’s not wax eloquent over those Medieval white bread loaves whose noble persons so eagerly sought out.  I wonder if they knew that ground chalk was sometimes put in their flour to make it appear whiter.

We’re talking about a somewhat large, delicious, nutty-tasting loaf made with wholemeal flour and, yes, a little bit of white flour to lighten up the texture. You can certainly do all wholemeal if you wish.

I like to embellish my loaf with raisins and either caraway, anise, or even fennel seeds for a unique taste, and to really gild the lily, some homemade or good-quality strawberry jam and butter.

This would be very appetizing for either breakfast — in which case it’s best made the day before — or afternoon tea. You can see in this photo how the bread should look, and do make sure it is a deep golden brown to ensure that it has baked through.

Sue Van Slootenteaches cooking and baking classes at her home on beautiful Big Rideau Lake, Ontario, Canada.

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