Bread and Butter

Wow, apparently May was a busy month for me. My apologies for the lack of posts. Awhile back, Aussie Therese asked for the soda bread recipe that I wrote about on April 1. So, ever on top of things, here it is.

Soda Bread Recipe

This recipe isn’t mine. I found it on the Internet, but didn’t save the link. My apologies to whomever this recipe belongs. I've add commentary throughout.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
Grease or foil for baking sheet

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Add buttermilk to mixture. Mix with your hands and/or have your child mix with his/her hands until blended (dough will be sticky). Wash child’s hands. Turn dough out onto a generously floured surface. Knead lightly four to five times. Shape dough into an 8-inch round loaf (or in my case, two 4-inch round loaves). Place on baking sheet coated or covered (I don’t like cooking spray). Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees, and continue to bake for another 15 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on wire rack.

This is totally me and why I don’t bake much: I apparently did something wrong because even though I baked two smaller loaves instead of the one loaf suggested by the recipe, it took a bit longer to bake. I’d say at least another 15-20 minutes. And then it turned out rather dense, although I know soda bread is a denser bread.

Butter

Cream
Salt (optional)

Find a container with a secure top. We used an old baby food jar, but that doesn’t make much. Something like a jam jar would probably work great. Fill jar half way with cream (as organic and close to raw as you can get). Securely close jar. Shake, roll, or otherwise agitate for 10-15 minutes. Make a game of it with your child (mine preferred that I do most of the work). The cream will change first to whipped cream and will be very thick. Keep shaking. All of the sudden, it will change to butter; you will hear the change first (since by this time you have stopped watching the jar while you shake it). Keep shaking a few more times. Pour liquid into another container if you want fresh buttermilk. Rinse butter in jar under cold water; rinse several times. Empty onto a plate and press (use the bottom of a spoon). You want to press as much liquid out as possible. Add salt to taste if you like. Enjoy!