Weekend Brunch

Today marks the beginning of a new series here on the blog.  Every weekend I will be sharing something brunch related--recipes, cocktails, restaurant review, etc.  Breakfast has always been my favorite meal, so on weekends we do it up big.  I can't wait to share with you some of my weekend brunch favorites!

__________

 
This weekend, in honor of St Patrick's Day, I made Irish Soda Bread.  In my family, we are big bread eaters, and this is one that I vividly remember my grandmother making.  Traditional soda bread contains just baking soda, flour, salt, and buttermilk, but I wanted something with a modern twist so I looked to this recipe from Ina Garten.  Unfortunately this one tasted nothing like my grandmother's, but it was an easy bread to throw together and had great flavor. 

Am I the only one who starts a recipe and then realizes they don't have something? As usual I had to make a substitute buttermilk with lemon juice and regular milk, which tastes nothing like the real thing but works in a pinch.

Above is an example of what it looks like when your dough is way too wet.  Wasn't it sweet of me to purposely mess this recipe up halfway through just to show you what not to do?  Oh yes, I totally did this on purpose.  Lesson learned: Be sure reserve a little milk or flour to adjust amounts as you go since dough is notoriously inconsistent depending on temperature and other conditions.

Historically, an cross or X is cut across the top to ward off evil, but as you can see mine mysteriously disappeared in the baking process.

Irish Soda Bread
adapted from Ina Garten

 

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 1/2 cups cold buttermilk, shaken
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour.

In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, egg, and orange zest. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture until dough comes together. Combine the raisins with 1 tablespoon of flour and fold into the dough. 

Place dough onto a well-floured board and knead into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Serve warm with butter and/or honey.

 __________

 

Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!  Have a green beer and relax, you deserve it!