Irish Soda Bread

I'm not Irish but this coming St. Patrick's Day maybe we all are just a little bit.  So, in honor of this fun holiday I decided to try my hand at making some Irish Soda Bread.  I looked at many recipes and took a little from each one to create my version.  Here it is. . .

Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread

1 cup wheat flour

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup salted butter, softened

1 cup milk

1 Tablespoon vinegar

1 egg, slightly beaten

3 Tablespoons butter, melted

3/4 teaspoon sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease a cookie sheet.  In a large bowl blend flours, 1/3 cup of sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and softened butter with a pastry cutter.  Add milk, vinegar and egg and mix until combined.  Right in the bowl, knead dough a few times so it is smooth.  Don't overknead or it will become a little too tough.  

Round into a ball and place on cookie sheet.  Flatten top a little and cut an "x" in the middle of bread, cutting down about halfway (this will allow the center to get baked).  Mix the melted butter and 3/4 teaspoon sugar.  Brush the top of the bread with some of this mixture.  

Bake for 60 - 65 minutes, brushing top of bread with butter/sugar mixture every 15 minutes.  If bread is getting too brown, cover it loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.  To check for doneness, I just touched the center of the bread to make sure it wasn't still doughy.  You can also keep the foil on for a while after removing from oven as it will bake a bit longer.

This tastes best eaten the day you make the bread.  However, it can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and kept for two days.  Otherwise, refrigerate it up to five days for longer storage.  You can freeze it; wrap in plastic wrap, then in foil.