#1114 - Soda Bread and Quick Bread

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RK1114quickbread122512.mp3

December 25, 2012   #1114   Soda Bread and Quick Bread

First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all our loyal listeners out there.   It's a great time to be cooking.   And let's say you get a phone call from friends who are throwing an impromptu party, and you want to whip up something really good, really fast to take along.   As it happens, we have just the thing!   They don't call it Quick Bread for nothin', and Jerry is a devotee of this rapid fire form of baking.

Quick breads, or soda breads, don't use yeast to expand the dough and create those little holes that dictate a bread's texture.   They use baking powder or baking soda to create bubbles of carbon dioxide in the dough to lighten the texture.   Since you don't need to wait for the yeast to work a couple times, you can throw the dough together, knead it, form it, and bake it.   Bang!

Here the basic soda bread recipe:

              Quick Soda Bread

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all purpose flout
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 tbs (1/2 stick) cold sweet butter, cut into dices
1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1.  Pre-heat oven to 375.  Prepare a non-stick baking sheet.

2.  Combine the flour, sugar, soda, and salt in a mixing bowl.  Add butter dices and mix at low speed with an electric beater until all is well mixed.

3.  Mix the buttermilk and egg in a cup, and slowly add to the dough mixture, beating at low speed.

4.  Place the dough on a well-floured flat surface and knead it into a round loaf.  Place the loaf, slightly flattened on the baking sheet, and score with a sharp knife, carving an X into the top of the loaf.

5.  Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a sharp knife comes out clean.  If you rap on the loaf, it will sound hollow when it's done.

For variations on this recipe, you can add flavorings or creamed ingredients into the dough.  Mushed up bananas, pureed zucchini, or buttermilk are great variations, and all the nuts, dried and fresh cut up fruit you can think of work very well.