Irish Soda Bread

Yield: 1 small loaf


Irish soda bread hasn't always been a favorite food of mine.   It would always be at an Irish pub restaurant down the street from our house, but I always thought it was too dry, crumbled apart easily, and flavorless.  So...because I'm Irish...and because my parents love Irish soda bread...and because I wanted to learn to like the type of bread...I decided to try making it myself.  I found a basic recipe off Allrecipes.com, and I altered it based on the reviews, and I ended up baking a wonderful loaf of bread!  It's much, much, much better than the soda bread from the Irish pub I had.  This loaf is moist, soft, doesn't crumble apart, and has just the right amount of flavor.  Because of the light flavor, it pairs well with any meal.  It has a hearty texture and is absolutely amazing when eaten hot out of the oven with softened, salted butter.  My favorite way to eat it was toasted with salted butter, cinnamon and brown sugar for breakfast.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Cornmeal, for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the milk and vinegar. Let stand 10 minutes, or until curdled.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, sugar, rosemary, oregano, salt and baking soda. Stir in the curdled milk mixture just until smooth.
3. Pour into a greased loaf pan and sprinkle with desired amount of cornmeal.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the crust feels firm to the touch. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.