Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation Irish Soda Bread

So, I'm looking for a good recipe for Irish Soda Bread. Looks like it would be great for cooking in a cast iron dutch oven while camping.
Anyone have any experience with this ?

Found this recipe. Not sure how authentic it is. Looks good.

Brown Bread (reminder: 4oz by weight is a dry "cup")

3 cups (12 oz) of wheat flour
1 cup (4 oz) of white flour (do not use self-rising as it already contains baking powder and salt)
14 ounces of buttermilk (pour in a bit at a time until the dough is moist)
1 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.
2 ounces of butter if you want to deviate a bit.

Method:

Preheat the oven to 425 F. degrees. Lightly grease and flour a cake pan. In a large bowl sieve and combine all the dry ingredients. Rub in the butter until the flour is crumbly.Add the buttermilk to form a sticky dough. Place on floured surface and lightly knead (too much allows the gas to escape)Shape into a round flat shape in a round cake pan and cut a cross in the top of the dough.Cover the pan with another pan and bake for 30 minutes (this simulates the bastible pot). Remove cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes.The bottom of the bread will have a hollow sound when tapped to show it is done.Cover the bread in a tea towel and lightly sprinkle water on the cloth to keep the bread moist.Let cool and you are ready to have a buttered slice with a nice cup of tea or coffee.

This one would probably be much easier at camp. More like a Bannock bread?

Heat a 9 inch iron skillet over low flame on the stove. Lightly dust with flour.
Measure 2 cups sifted flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt.
Make a well in the above and add 1 cup of buttermilk. Thoroughly mix until dough leaves side of bowl.
Flour a bread board - put dough on board (sprinkle with a little extra flour - and gently knead 3 or 4 times.
Pat dough into a circle the size of the skillet. Cut into farls (fourths) and place on skillet. Cook about 10 minutes on each side.
Wrap bread in a tea towel when it is done. This absorbs the baking soda taste and keeps the bread fresh. Eat that day or fry in bacon fat the next morning as part of an Ulster fry.

You can also use 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 white flour.

And last, but not least. From Julia Child.

Here is her recipe for "Brown Bread"

4 cups Stone Ground Whole wheat flour
2 cups White flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 1/2 tsp Salt
2 cups Buttermilk

Seems to me that all of the recipe's use the same method of preparation- Similar to this.


Mix the whole wheat flour thoroughly with the white flour, salt, and baking soda. Make a well in the center and gradually mix in the liquid. Stir with a wooden spoon. You may need less, or more liquid - it depends on the absorbent quality of the flour. The dough should be soft but manageable. Knead the dough into a ball in the mixing bowl with your floured hands. Put on a lightly floured baking sheet and with the palm of your hand flatten out in a circle 1 1/2 inches thick. With a knife dipped in flour, make a cross through the center of the bread so that it will easily break into quarters when it is baked. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake a further 15 minutes. If the crust seems too hard, wrap the baked bread in a damp tea cloth. Leave the loaf standing upright until it is cool. The bread should not be cut until it has set - about 6 hours after it comes out of the oven. (personally, I can't wait 6 hours to eat fresh soda bread

Here's the one I've used. I cook it in a cast iron skillet, no lids needed. Feel free to leave the caraway seeds out of it.


http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/irish-soda-bread-with-raisins-and-caraway-107136