- 3
Ingredients
- 3 LOAVES
- Baguette-like loaves make this Irish classic easy to slice, providing perfectly sized portions.
- 5 cups whole-wheat flour (preferably stone-ground)
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
- 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
- 2 1/4 cups well-shaken buttermilk at room temperature
- 2 large eggs at room temperature, lightly beaten
- ACCOMPANIMENTS: creme fraiche; jam
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 425F with rack in middle.
Blend flours, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and butter in a large bowl with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Stir in buttermilk and eggs until a smooth dough forms.
Transfer to a lightly floured surface and divide into 3 pieces.
Form each piece into a 16-inch-long log and arrange, evenly spaced, on a lightly floured baking sheet.
Generously sprinkle with flour and cut 3 diagonal shallow slashes on each log with a very sharp knife.
Bake 30 minutes, then reduce oven to 375F and continue to bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Transfer loaves to a rack to cool.
Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
COOKS NOTE: Soda bread is best the day it is made, but loaves can be tightly wrapped in 2 layers of foil and frozen 1 month.
Refresh, wrapped in foil, in a 325F oven until heated through, about 20 minutes.