Kitchen Literacy: Luck of the Irish

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!  For years, I would bake Irish soda bread and read leprechaun stories with my young students.  There is nothing like the smell of fresh-baked bread while listening to fanciful tales.  We also used to make our own butter to go with the bread.  I would put a little heavy cream in empty baby food jars.  Each of my students  had a jar to shake, shake, shake.  The magic butter was their own to use and then bring home with a few extra slices of bread to share with their families.

Since COVID, we can’t bake at school anymore.  I miss baking with children the most.  I cannot wait till it is a legally sanctioned activity again.  I hadn’t tried Irish soda bread at home because I have Celiac Disease and need to eat gluten-free.  I thought there was no use in trying to make bread myself.  I thought it would turn out terribly.  I was wrong!

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!  Enjoy some soda bread and snuggle down with a good leprechaun legend.

Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread

• 1 ½ cups buttermilk
  • 1 large egg
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter, divided
  • 3 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  • 1/3 cup golden raisins
  • 1/3 cup currants
  • 1 Tablespoon caraway seeds
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Whisk buttermilk, egg and 3 tablespoons melted butter in a medium bowl.
3. Place flour, baking powder, baking soda, caraway seeds, currants, raisins, and salt in a large bowl. Mix on low speed to combine. Increase speed to medium and slowly add the buttermilk mixture until a soft dough forms. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
4. Brush the remaining 1 tablespoon butter over the base and sides of an 8-inch cast iron skillet.
5. Dust hands with flour and form the dough into a ball. Press the dough into the prepared pan.
6. Use a sharp knife to score a deep “X” in the top of the dough.
7. Bake until lightly browned and hollow-sounding when tapped on the bottom, 30 to 40 minutes.
8. Remove from the pan and let cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes.

Books to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

1. Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato by Tomie DePaola
2. Fiona’s Luck by Teresa Bateman
3. Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie DePaola
4. Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk by Gerald McDermott
5. A Fine St. Patrick’s Day by Susan Wojciechowski
6. How to Catch a Leprechaun by Adam Wallace
7. That’s What Leprechauns Do by Emily Arnold McCully
8. O’Sullivan Stew by Hudson Talbott
9. Finn McCool and the Great Fish by Even Bunting