Soda bread was the first bread I ever learned how to make. I remember feeling nervous, since people had told me before that baking bread was hard… but my rustic-looking, slightly-underdone-in-the-middle, circular loaf was delicious. It just needed tweaking.
That recipe has undergone many iterations in the seven years (holy cow, SEVEN YEARS?) since then. This version is by far my favorite, and I hope you enjoy it.
4 cups All-Purpose Flour (or your favorite kind of flour - just be aware it may change the texture and flavor)
½ stick (or ¼ cup) Unsalted Butter, cold
Zest from half an orange (OR from half a lemon, if you prefer)
1 tablespoon Fresh Rosemary, or 1 teaspoon Dried Rosemary
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or to 175 degrees Celsius.
First, mix together all of your dries in a large mixing bowl. You can use a stand mixer or your hands for this, depending on how floury you like to get. I usually use my hands.
Cut in your butter with your hands or with a dough blender (again, I like to use my hands) until your mixture is dry and crumbly.
In a separate container, mix together your buttermilk, egg, and zest. Chop up your rosemary to your desired consistency (I usually chop it pretty fine) and add it to your mixture. Then, add the mixture to your dries and mix gently or on low speed until combined.
On a lightly floured surface, knead your dough for about 2 minutes.
Using a greased bowl, cover your dough and let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
Then, roll out your dough and cut or shape it into your desired shape. I usually go for the classic, rustic round loaf. Sometimes I’ll cut it into two, but for the Feast, I’ll be leaving it as a single loaf. This dough keeps its shape really well, so you can do a lot with it!
Place your loaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush with egg wash (which is just a beaten egg mixed with a little water). You can sprinkle more rosemary on top, too, if you want!
Bake your bread for 30 minutes. Let it cool slightly before cutting into it, and enjoy!
Optional magic that you can include while baking:
Rosemary is a protective, cleansing herb. While you chop and mix in the herb, you can focus your intent on protecting whoever will be eating it. I like to bake this bread before I do anything else as a way to cleanse my oven and cast a protection over the entire kitchen as I cook and bake and prepare.
You could also use additional rosemary to draw a sigil or other protective symbol on top of the loaf.
The orange (or lemon!) peel adds a fresh zestiness to the bread, but it also adds prosperous energy and an uplifting effect on the spirit. As you zest your citrus and add it to the milk, consider the things you want to achieve and imbue the zest with those intents.
I’ll be thinking about keeping my friends’ spirits up during the colder months, especially the ones who have been hit by financial hardship lately.
Use the kneading time to set the ultimate intentions of the bread. Kneading is an act of give and take, push and pull. Give some of your own energy, take some of the ingredients’ energy. This is the time to sing, chant, or just say a few words over the bread.
For my own purposes, I’ll be repeating a few words that match my goals: joy, warmth, comfort. Yours can be more involved or detailed, but I find that simple works much better for me.
The rest period is exceptionally important, both for the bread and for ourselves. While your dough rests, take a moment to ground yourself. Consider the way the baking soda is bubbling to create air as the gluten in the bread relaxes. As you sit or stand in the warmth of your kitchen, let yourself relax just like the dough. Absorb the cleansing and energizing energy from the ingredients and the air around you.
If you make this recipe, please let me know how you liked it!
gummygunk
andulkaphoto
vaporwave
dededos
snowghoul
tangentwithtanner
