by: Christopher Oliver
Bread is an essential element of any good meal. Bread besides being wonderful on it's own merits, has the added benefit of moping up. You know how bread works to collect all those wonderful juices, gravy and bits of food remaining on the plate. The stuff a spoon or fork just cant get and your only other option is to lick the plate! Yes, that's what I am talking about. What a tasty treat a good piece of bread can be when drenched with gravy or soaked with some savory soup. Ah.....sweet it is.
Well the recipe that follows will help you create some good bread. It is a Irish Soda Bread at heart with some slight modifications. From start to finish, including the time in the oven it takes about 1 hour. In addition this is one of the best recipes for adaptation. I have added chopped olives, roasted garlic, fresh rosemary and any number of various oils to create different taste profiles. A simple way to compliment your meal.
Chris' Irish Soda Bread
1 cup Whole wheat flour
3cups White unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon Baking powder
1 tablespoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking soda
2 cups butter milk
1/4 cup oil
Mix wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
In a separate bowl dissolve baking soda in buttermilk and oil.
Add the two bowls together, mixing just enough to combine ingredients.
Turn batter out onto a floured surface and kneed the bread lightly. Shape into any form and slide onto a lightly oiled baking sheet. Score the top of the loaf with a very sharp knife and bake in a hot oven at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes.
For other recipes by Christopher, check out his “Breaking Bread with Christopher” blog at http://breakingbreadwithchristopher.blogspot.com/
