Photo: Sue McCrory's soda bread
A corner of our offices smelled delicious yesterday. Five of us brought in home-made Irish soda breads for a taste-off “Here & Now” is pulling together for their show today at noon.
After putting out a call for bakers, Producer Kathleen McKenna called for “a real Irishman” to be one of the tasters. So, of course I volunteered my husband, Hugh, who grew up outside of Cookstown, on the Derry/Tyrone border. His Granny McCrory used to bake fresh bread everyday — zip, zip, she never stopped moving, Hugh tells me, nestling warm treacle or soda bread in a tea towel for visitors to the house. How lovely sounding is that??
Now, since I can’t give away the winner before today’s show, let me just say that the ingredients that aren’t in a soda bread may surprise you. Eggs, sugar or caraway seeds? Check any one of those and your bread’s not soda bread. Raisins? Again, not the real McCoy. (Er, seeing that my bread, above, has raisins in it, you can guess how mine fared…)
To find out what IS in traditional Irish soda, according to enthusiast Ed O’Dwyer of the Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread, and which bread Hugh and Kathy Gunst (the show’s second formal taster) chose as their favorite, tune in today as noon to “Here & Now.” Check the program’s website, too, for all five recipes and some personal histories about each. Guaranteed you’ll laugh, and leave informed.
My husband made Irish soda bread for his Irish family’s annual Christmas party a few years ago. It got rave reviews, but I am sorry to say it had both raisins and caraway seeds. Regardless, it was pretty terrific; I think it had a lot to do with the cast-iron skillet he used…
Two of the breads in the bake off came in cast iron skillets. Does that add a crunchy crust? I baked mine in the oven, and the recipe also calls for caraway seeds and raisins. It’s delicious!
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As I am getting ready for St. Patrick’s Day, I have had my Irish music on. It wasn’t until I went to another part of the house I heard on NPR, the Irish Bread bake off. I have my mother’s recipe, along with a little history of her journey to an in the U.S.A. I would love to send this info to you. If not, please know Katherine Monaghan form Tuam, Co.Galway Ireland, came to the U.S.A.in the early 1920’s at the age of 18yrs., she brought many traditions and much love with her. To this day the love, and many of the traditions live on.
Thank you for all you do, Kathleen Palimeri
Send the recipe and history! We’d love to post it. prk@wbur.org
The recipe I use is my husband’s Great-Grandmother’s recipe. It is about a hundred years old and Granny Mahoney was as Irish as it gets. There are both raisins AND caraway seeds in her recipe. It specifies using a cast iron skillet.
I would love to send the recipe in. It is for what is known as tea cake. I have the recipe for Irish brown bread, this is from the gr.dtr. of one of my Mother’s friends. I will send them snail mail. Kathleen Palimeri
P.S. Sorry for the typos in my previous posting. I was excited about the Irish bread story.
I made your winning Irish Soda Bread and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you so much, I’d never even heard of this bread before 3/17. I’ve never even ever bought buttermilk. Next I’m making bread pudding (if any is left over). Again, thanks.
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