Name: Classic Irish Soda Bread
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Cuisine: Irish
Ingredients: 3 cups (15 ounces/425 grams) bleached all-purpose flour , plus more for work surface; 1 cup (4 ounces/113 grams) cake flour; 2 tablespoons granulated sugar; 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda; 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar; 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt; 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 tablespoons softened + 1 tablespoon melted); 1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Why This Recipe Works

When developing our Irish soda bread recipe, our first tests focused on flour. A loaf made with all-purpose flour produced a doughy, heavy bread with a thick crust. To soften the crumb, we added some cake flour to the mix, and this made a difference. With only the four basic ingredients of flour, buttermilk, baking soda, and salt, our soda bread recipe was lacking in flavor and still a little tough; we turned to sugar and butter. The sugar added flavor without making the bread sweet and the butter softened the dough just enough with out making it overly rich.

Before You Begin

Fresh out of the oven, this bread is a great accompaniment to soups or stews, and leftovers make fine toast. The variations following this recipe, with their flavorful grains and additions, can stand alone.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk flours, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt in large bowl. Work softened butter into dry ingredients with fork or fingertips until texture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add buttermilk and stir with a fork just until dough begins to come together. Turn out onto flour-coated work surface; knead until dough just becomes cohesive and bumpy, 12 to 14 turns. (Do not knead until dough is smooth, or bread will be tough.)

Pat dough into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches high; place on greased or parchment-lined baking sheet or in cast-iron pot, if using, and cut a cross shape into the top.

Bake until golden brown and a skewer inserted into center of loaf comes out clean or internal temperature reaches 180 degrees, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter; cool to room temperature, 30 to 40 minutes.