The Best Irish Soda Bread

By Sandy Hu
The latest from Inside Special Fork

I’m on a consulting assignment for Kerrygold in New York City. And since I won’t be home to make soda bread for St. Patrick’s Day, I made mine early to share with my son, who agreed to house sit while I am away.

I love soda bread—it’s one of the easiest breads to make and it makes the house smell heavenly as it bakes. This year I tried a new recipe--soda bread with Dubliner cheese and green onion. It was crusty outside and moist inside, speckled with green onion that added a little bite and bright color to the tender crumb. Honestly, it was just the best soda bread, ever.

The recipe comes, appropriately enough, from The Kerrygold Cookbook. I’ve adapted it slightly.

Dubliner and Spring Onion Soda Bread
2 2/3 cups flour, plus extra flour for dusting
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 cup) grated Dubliner cheese
4 spring onions or scallions, thinly sliced
1 1/4 cups buttermilk, plus a little extra if necessary

Heat oven to 450° F.

Sift flour, baking soda and salt together into a large bowl. Add cheese and onions and stir gently to combine.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk; using a large spoon, mix gently and quickly to form a soft dough that binds together. Add a little bit more buttermilk if dough is too dry and there is not enough liquid to absorb all the flour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and gently knead a few times, then shape into a round loaf that’s about 6 inches in diameter. Place on a nonstick baking sheet or on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut a deep cross into the top of the bread.

Bake for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 400°F and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes or until the loaf is evenly golden and crusty. It should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. If it doesn’t, return to the oven to bake another 5 minutes.

Transfer loaf to a wire rack and cool about 20 minutes. This bread is best eaten while still warm. To serve, place loaf on a breadboard and cut into slices at the table.

Makes 1 loaf.

Recipe adapted from The Kerrygold Cookbook.

Recipe notes:

• Dubliner is a robust aged cheese made by Kerrygold with milk from Ireland’s grass-fed cows. It is similar in texture to Cheddar, with flavor notes ranging from nutty, to sharp, to sweet.
• If you’re not familiar with the term, to “make a well,” here’s how you do it: use a wooden spoon to push back the dry ingredients to the sides of the bowl to create an empty space in the center of the bowl – the well—and add the liquid ingredients into the well. Stir, gathering all the dry ingredients from the outside into the center of the well and mix just until dry ingredients are moistened, forming a soft, wet dough.

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