Classic Irish Soda Bread

Let me start off by saying that I have baked bread before, and I don't mind it. But I don't love it. Now don't get me wrong there is nothing like fresh homemade bread, but the time and mostly the timing that it takes can rearrange your whole day. I even have a fabulous recipe for no-Knead bread that is almost fail safe. (I've never had problems but my sister-in-law who is a fabulous cook can't ever get it to work. I've chalked it up to altitude and humility differences in our respective states.) But even this bread requires being home at certain hours, waiting and being home again. Clearly this isn't crisis material, but it definitely takes planning.

Enter Irish Soda Bread.

The recipe claims classic status, but I had never heard of it before. It is not a yeast bread, requires almost no kneading, and can be done start to finish in an hour, with 40 minutes of that as cooking time. The bread is delish especially alongside soup.(Which, by the way, is helpful if you children still. will. not. eat. soup. and need to fill up on bread.) It has a distinct flavor that vaguely reminded me of soda crackers, but not in a bad way.  Clearly the soda as the leavening agent is what gives the flavor. Dinner is made nice and easy if the soup has been bubbling away in the crock pot for hours. Just for the record, the entire loaf was eaten before bedtime.

I will definitely be making this again as it is by far the easiest bread I've ever made and since the loaf is round with a big cross in the middle it looks like I actually know what I'm doing.

Irish Soda Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup plain cake flour (I know it is a pain because you probably don't have it in your pantry. I made a special store run for that and the buttermilk but now it is in the pantry and all is well.)
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus 1 tablespoon butter melted to brush on crust
1 1/2 cups butter milk

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together dry ingredients. Work in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbles. (I swear figures are the best, fastest and most thorough method for this, but that's just me.)

2. Add buttermilk. Stir just until it comes together. Knead 12-14 times just until cohesive and bumpy.

3. Pat the dough into a round about 6 inches in diameter and 2 inches high; put on greased cookie sheet or cooking stone. Score the dough but cutting a cross shape in the top of the loaf with a serrated knife about 3/4 inch deep.

4. Bake until golden brown 40-45 minutes. Brush the surface with melted butter; cool to room temperature before serving 30-40 minutes.