Brown Soda Bread Loaf With Caraway Seeds And Rye By Martha Rose Shulman Recipes

BROWN SODA BREAD LOAF WITH CARAWAY SEEDS AND RYE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch bread pan.
• In a large bowl, mix together flours, steel-cut oats, rolled oats, brown sugar, salt, caraway seeds and sifted baking soda. Mix well with your hands.
• Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour in the buttermilk. Working from the center of the bowl in concentric clockwise circles, with fingers outstretched stir buttermilk into flour mixture. (You can use a rubber spatula instead if you don't like getting dough on your hands.) This should take about a half a minute at most. Dough will be quite moist. Use a rubber spatula to scrape into bread pan and smooth out dough to fill the pan evenly (pan will be filled only about halfway.)
• Place in oven and bake 40 minutes, until dark brown and a tester inserted comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool on a rack.

RICH IRISH SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and caraway seeds until well combined.
• Using a pastry cutter or two knives in scissor fashion, cut in butter until the mixture feels like coarse meal. Stir in raisins until evenly distributed.
• In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, and baking soda until well combined. Pour buttermilk mixture into the flour-and-butter mixture all at once, and stir with a fork until all the liquid is absorbed and the mixture begins to hold together. It should resemble a rough biscuit dough. Using your hands, press the dough into a round, dome-shaped loaf about 8 inches in diameter. Lift the loaf from the bowl, and transfer it to the prepared baking sheet.
• In a small bowl, mix the egg yolk and cream together. With a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over the loaf. With a sharp knife or razor, incise a cross, about 1/2 inch deep, into the top of the loaf. Transfer to the oven. Bake, rotating halfway through, until it is deep golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted into the center, about 70 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer bread from the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool.

RYE SODA BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Mix sunflower seeds, oats, 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, and poppy seeds together in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Combine remaining 2 teaspoons caraway seeds, rye flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, and sea salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour in 1 3/4 cups buttermilk and stir with a wooden spoon until dough starts coming together. Knead briefly in the bowl until no dry spots remain.
• Transfer dough to the prepared baking sheet and shape into a round loaf. Use damp hands if dough is sticking as you shape it. Cut a deep cross into the top using a sharp knife. Brush with 1 tablespoon buttermilk and sprinkle seed-oat mixture all over the top and into the cracks.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top and bottom are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.