Having an Irish husband, I had heard a lot about Irish Soda Bread but had not actually eaten much of it until my granddaughters took Irish dance lessons. When I volunteered for their dance school, I met a lady who baked and sold lovely slices of the bread with butter and strawberry jam for fundraising. This was absolutely delicious and I definitely wanted to learn to make it for my family. She invited me to come to her house the next time she was making it and I was off. Later, when my son, who is a Chef, became the Executive Chef in an Irish Restaurant, I started baking loaves for him to serve. I would make about 16 to 24 loaves a week. I would pre-measure the dry ingredients into containers and have them all ready so I just needed to add the liquids on the day of baking. I also continued to make it for my family and extended family (their Irish cousins and friends). Now I am teaching my daughter and granddaughters to bake it. It has now become one of our family traditions. Although I am of French heritage, I believe it has added to my children’s Irish customs and traditions.
Here’s our first attempt at a video tutorial. (Apologies for the radio in the background.)
Kat and J here:
Well, today was the easiest (and the most almond-free…which is of great benefit to some of our family members with nut allergies) recipe we’ve tried so far! Today was also a lesson in comparing tradition with new ways of doing things. For a twist on this week’s challenge, we decided to do a comparative side-by-side of both the recipe in Baking with Julia and the recipe our grandmother acquired from a friend a few years ago. After learning to knead the dough (and trying to pry the remnants off of our fingers), we placed our loaves in the oven. The result was an interesting comparison. While the cookbook’s recipe was a perfectly textured, mild tasting bread, there was just something about the recipe we’d used time and time again that made it that much more special. Perhaps it was the extra ingredients, or the switch from white to whole wheat flour. Nevertheless, we were all very proud of the resulting awesomeness of the masses of Irish soda bread that will serve as snacktime fodder for the next several days…if it lasts even that long…
This week’s hosts are: Carla and Cathleen. You can find everyone’s links here: Irish Soda Bread
Like the side by side (and generational) comparison!
Lovely job.
If you’re going to make that many loaves a week, this would certainly be a good recipe to do that with!
enjoyed the video, and the radio
Your loaves are beautiful, and I love that you’ve got the different POVs!
Ah, there’s nothing like a good Irish brown bread – my favorite quick bread!
I really like the whole wheat idea, I’ve been trying to get more whole grains in. Glad to know it still tastes great!
the bread looks great..
it looks lovely – and the “x” opened up really well!
Oh, man, this looks like cake! Beautiful!
Beautifully done! I have only made Irish brown bread before this…both are yummy!
Amazing experience of lots of soda bread loaves. You mentioned liking the hand-me-down recipe — have you shared it here before?
We’ll see if we can get permission to share it and if so, we’ll post it on the blog.
I like the idea of a multi-generational blog… What a great way to share!
I love your comparison and the video is great fun. Interesting to see you kneading this bread…both loaves are beautiful with a wonderful texture.
Great job, beautiful loaves! I like that you posted the video — very cool.
Wow, the left one looks like the finest cake!
Both breads look lovely! I would like to try a whole wheat version for comparison.
Looks great!
~ Carmen
http://bakingismyzen.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/twd-baking-with-julia-irish-soda-bread
Great post. Enjoyed the video. The brown bread looks wonderful. Would you share the recipe? I’m so impressed that you made 16 to 24 loaves a week; wow.
Your loaves look great! 16-24 loaves a week? WOW…You’re definitely an expert!
Great post and both loaves look great. It was very touching to have the generational perspective!
Lovely bread! And I especially like the whole wheat version.
Wow, that’s quite a difference in color between the two loaves. The bread looks like it has a wonderful texture. Did you use all whole wheat, I wonder, in your brown loaf? I was happy w/ the half white whole wheat that I used in mine, but I wonder how it would taste if I used even more whole wheat flour. Thank you for the video. I was surprised how much extra flour got incorporated into the dough. I was afraid if I added too much extra flour that my bread would be dry or tough. I will be generous w/ the flour next time.
Your bread looks yummy. Teresa, how does it compare to the bread you made for your son’s restaurant??
The chef is actually my brother (my Mom wrote this week’s post). The bread she makes for him is a brown soda bread, with a few more ingredients thrown in, like egg and some baking powder. I think the brown version really has the flavour I associate with Irish soda bread, though this white version is tasty, too.
Great post!
Thanks, everyone! We’ve really been enjoying the process of making these recipes together monthly. Lots of learning, sharing skills, spending time together, and of course, eating!
Beautiful loaf! It’s not lumpy & bumpy like the rest of ours! 🙂
It sounds like you guys are pros! I am just discovering this bread, but really loved it. Both breads look beautiful, but sometimes it’s hard to top a tried and true favorite recipe. I love that you guys are all baking and posting together!
How wonderful that your family is baking and blogging together! Both breads looked beautiful! What is in the brown loaf?
Love that everyone bakes and blogs! Great idea to compare the two, I bet the family one is amazing!
Not to sound like a Mastercard commercial, but your Irish soda bread baking experience is priceless! Baking a family recipe and comparing it to the recipe in Baking with Julia is super cool!
your bread looks sooo fluffy!!! 🙂
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I love homemade bread.