Hi Friends! So we are less than a week from St. Patrick’s Day!

We thought we would share with you a sweet treat we enjoy in our home around St. Patrick’s Day! Irish Soda Bread! It is a bread with a slight amount of sweetness, and a dense texture almost like a biscuit, and it is so easy to make!

Many thanks to my husband Troy for his help with the photographs and cooking this week. He has been so good to me since I broke my ankle and had surgery, and gracious I am so blessed to have him in my life.

So Troy and I talked about this post. We love Irish Soda Bread on St. Patrick’s Day. Irish Soda Bread originally appeared a century ago in a publication when a challenge was made to try and come up with a recipe for making bread with “soft wheat”.

Ireland had soft wheat only suitable to grow in Ireland’s climate. When mixed in a dough, it just doesn’t have enough gluten to interact with yeast to get the bread to rise well. But the wheat does work well with soda to get it to rise. Basically, when the soda gets wet it creates a gas and interacts with the dough to cause it to rise.

It makes for a tasty sweet treat! Many people include raisins in their Irish Soda Bread but in our house we enjoy the sweet simple bread all on its own. So without further ado, let’s begin!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of all purpose flour
• 4 Tbsp sugar
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter softened

Additional mixture for basting the bread while baking

• 1/4 cup of melted butter
• 1/4 cup of buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375° and lightly grease or apply cooking spray to a large baking sheet.

Put in a large bowl the dry ingredients: (flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt)

Make a “well” in the center for the wet ingredients. Add in the wet ingredients (buttermilk, soft butter, egg) and mix with mixing spoon.

As the dough begins to form, put flour on a board or your countertop, and knead it into a ball.

Make the basting mixture in a small bowl using the additional 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/4 cup buttermilk.

Baste the ball of dough.

Place the ball of dough on the pregreased cookie sheet, and baste again with the mixture.

Using a sharp knife, cut a cross into the top of the ball of dough to allow it to spread while baking.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. During this time, baste it every 20 minutes while baking. Allow it to cool for a bit on a rack, but is really at it’s best served warm.

And we are ready for a sweet treat!

Time to slice the Irish Soda Bread!

I like it with some nice soft butter,

Some coffee, or tea,

There is plenty for everyone!

Adding some honey or marmalade is nice too!

There is something so lovely about traditions and holidays. They seem to unify us and rally us as humans to something so sweet. My son Shane lives in Chicago, a fast paced city with some cold winters. But in Chicago, the city really rallies around St. Patrick’s Day. They dye the river green, host a big parade, and pretty much anything that can be made green is green!

Many people will be making a corned beef dinner. And whether you are Irish or not, it is just a fun day in general! In the month of March, that is a wonderful reason to stop the “business as usual” and allow yourself a moment to stand side by side with people all over the world and simply celebrate! Any occasion where you can smile and look in the eyes of your fellow man and simply celebrate that life is good, well, my friend that is the luck of the Irish being bestowed on you! Grab it and treasure it!

These moments and opportunities are the little pots of gold at the end of the rainbow, and we don’t want to miss them!

Have a fantastic week!

I’ll be back Friday!

Love Always,

Amy

May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.    ~Irish Blessing~ author unknown