Erin go Bragh
I meant to do this all day but was busy running a ton of errands which, by the way, included gathering up more of my coveted Ranunculus.
and, we are just getting going here 🙂
Then I came upon a post on Abby Dodge’s fb page with all of her glorious ingredients ready to go. I wondered to myself if I had time to get it together before I left for the dentist. I knew what I wanted to try and assembled my ingredients. When I got home, this went into the oven:
in the oven
IRISH SODA BREAD WITH WATERCRESS, POTATO, IRISH CHEDDAR AND CARAWAY SEEDS – adapted from Abby Dodge’s Everyday Baker
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour, plus extra for sprinkling
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 egg
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, divided
3/4 cup chopped fresh watercress
3/4 cup grated yukon gold potato, squeezed and dried in paper towels
3/4 cup irish cheddar, grated
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
egg wash
coarse sea salt
caraway seeds for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 450F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking soda, salt, pepper and 1 tsp caraway seeds in a low wide bowl.
In a large measuring cup, whisk together 1 cup of the buttermilk together with one egg. Drizzle this over the dry ingredients and, working with a dough scraper gently bring the dry ingredients into the wet. When the mixture begins to hold together add the watercress, the potato and the cheddar. Gently mix, with a very light hand to just disperse the added ingredients through the dry ingredients. If the mixture is very dry and crumbly, drizzle in a bit more buttermilk a tablespoon at a time. Knead lightly and sprinkle flour over all lightly.
Form into a ball and transfer to the baking sheet. Pat down slightly. Score with a sharp knife in an X in the center, reaching almost end to end. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse salt and about a tsp of additional caraway seeds. Reduce oven temperature to 400F.
Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the loaf is nicely browned, well-puffed and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Enjoy! *I meant to add 1/4 cup snipped fresh chives and forgot – next time
