Irish soda bread can tweak tradition

If you plan to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this week with more than a green shamrock on your shirt, a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner might be on the menu. Boiling the beef and cabbage together and steaming some tiny red potatoes on the side isn’t very difficult. It isn’t very exciting, either, but you can add a little pizzazz without too much effort. Mix together some Dijon-style mustard with honey and drizzle it over the corned beef and the cabbage wedges before serving. Make the red potatoes glisten with warm melted butter and chopped fresh parsley.

And what would a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner be without a loaf of fresh, hot-from-the-oven Irish soda bread? This easy, no-yeast quick bread gets its leavening from baking soda mixed with an acid, usually buttermilk. Here are three stand-out variations that will add a touch of class to the humble soda bread. After all, while familiar foods are comforting, sometimes it’s fun (and tasty) to tweak tradition.

Irish soda bread with raisins and caraway

While raisins are often an option in soda bread, the combination of raisins with caraway seeds makes a unique sweet-and-savory loaf that is great toasted. Using yogurt instead of buttermilk can be more economical, too. Recipe from All Around the World Cookbook by Sheila Lukins; makes one loaf.

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons caraway seeds

1 1/4 cups nonfat plain yogurt

1 large egg, beaten

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Add raisins and caraway seeds; mix well. In another bowl combine yogurt, egg and butter. Add to dry ingredients; combine until just mixed. Form dough into a disk about 6 inches across and about 2 1/2 inches thick in center. Dust with more flour if dough is too sticky. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, cut an X on the surface. Bake until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when bottom is tapped, about 50 minutes. Serve warm.

Brown oatmeal soda bread

Soda bread gets healthy fiber in this 45-minute recipe from Gourmet magazine; makes two 7-inch loaves.

2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, plus additional for sprinkling on top

2 cups buttermilk

1 large egg, beaten lightly

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl sift together 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the oats. Add buttermilk and egg; stir until mixture forms a dough. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead, adding as much of the remaining 1/4 cup all purpose flour as needed to form a manageable but sticky dough. Cut dough in half and form the halves into round loaves; put on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle lightly with additional oats, dust with flour, and bake in middle of oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until browned lightly. Cool on a rack and serve warm.

Irish whisky soda bread

We cook with beer; why not whisky too? In this recipe, the whisky replaces buttermilk as the main liquid. Just a touch adds an interesting zing to the traditional soda bread. Makes two 8-inch loaves.

4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into pieces

1 cup raisins or currants (optional)

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup Irish whisky

Glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins or currants if using. In a separate bowl, combine honey and whisky. Add liquid ingredients all at once to dry ingredients; stir just until combined. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead lightly for one minute. Divide dough in half; shape each half into an 8-inch round. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans; place one loaf in each pan. With a floured knife, cut an “X” about a half inch deep on top of each loaf. Make glaze by combining two teaspoons Irish whisky with two teaspoons milk. Brush glaze of loaves. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped on bottoms. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. Cut into wedges and serve warm.