Traces of Heaven: Tasty Tuesdays- French and Irish Baking

St Patrick's day is just around the corner, and while to many people that means beer and beads, to us Catholics it's a day to celebrate an incredible saint whose passion for God and whose faith and service drove demons out of Ireland by the power of God and brought an entire pagan island to love and serve the Lord and His Church.
Many families like to celebrate with a traditional Irish Feast, which can mean anything from Corned Beef and Cabbage to Shepherds' Pie. Long story short, if there are potatoes, go for it. A popular and almost always present side dish is Irish Soda Bread, one of the greatest things ever for those of us who can't have a lot of yeast.
Because it's yeast free bread, we can make it quickly and easily, and it tastes great. Here is our family's favorite Irish Soda Bread Recipe:

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 50 Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour 5 Minutes

Servings: 20

"The batter for this unadulterated soda bread features buttermilk for a special richness."

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup margarine, softened

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup buttermilk

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
2.	In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and margarine. Stir in 1 cup of buttermilk and egg. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk; brush loaf with this mixture. Use a sharp knife to cut an 'X' into the top of the loaf.
3.	Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 30 to 50 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter mixture while it bakes.

The other bread we bake almost every day around here is a French Baguette, the crunchy, fluffy amazing bread I was raised eating at every meal. Serve it with jam in the morning, alongside soup or salad at noon, with nutella at teatime, and with a rich, hearty dinner to sop up sauces and finish off dishes. Yum. It's a 24 hour bread, you make the starter early in the afternoon and start baking at 3 or 4 am if you want it fresh for breakfast. But around here, I make the starter last thing at night and then start the process first thing in the morning, which means we usually have fresh bread at lunchtime or snacktime and always with dinner, using leftover first thing in the morning. The recipe I use is from Bread Alone. Total prep and baking time is 6 hours, not including the poolish. Makes 4 baguettes, 12-14 inches long, 1 inch wide.

POOLISH:

Spring Water 1 cup

Dry Yeast 1/4 tsp

Organic all purpose white flour* 1 1/2 cups

(I sometimes substitute half and half whole wheat.)

Combine water and yeast in a large bowl and let stand for 1 minute. Stir with a wooden spoon until yeast is dissolved. Add the flour, and stir until consistency of the thick batter. Continue stirring for 100 strokes until the strands of thick gluten come off the spoon when you press it against the back of the bowl. Scrape down thesides with a spatula and cover with plastic wrap or a clean, damp cloth. put in a modertately warm draft free place until it doubles in volume. (I leave it overnight)

FINAL DOUGH:

Full batch of Poolish

Spring Water, 1 cup

Dry Yeast 1/4 tsp

Organic All Purpose White Flour, 5 cups

Fine Sea Salt 1 tblsp

Measure and transfer one cup of the poolish to a new bowl. Discard the rest. Add the water and yeast and stir to break up until it loosens and foams slightly. Add 1 cup of the flour and stir until well combined. Add the salt, stir, and then add just enough flour to make a difficult to mix. Turn it out onto a well-floured surface and knead, adding more of the remaining flour until dough is soft and smooth, 15-17 minutes. The dough is ready when a small amount pulled from the mass springs back quickly. Shape the dough into a ball and let it rest on the well flooured surface while you scrape and clean the bowl. Lightly oil the bowl, and place the dough inside, turning it once to coat all sides with oil. Cover with a clean damp cloth or plastic wrap and put in a moderately warm, draft free place until doubled in volume and a slight indentation remains after pressing finger into the dough. (2-3 hours)

Deflate the dough by pushing down in the center and pulling up on the sides. Transfer to a lightly floured board. Knead BRIEFLY. Divide into four equal portions. Flatten with the heel of your hand and shape into small, tight ball. Cover with clean damp cloth or plastic wrap and put in moderately warm, draft free place for 30 mins.

Flatten each ball with the heel of the hand and shape into a 14 inch loaf. Place the loaves seam side up in a well floured couche (if you don't have one, just place them on the surface you will be cooking them in, WELL FLOURED and shaped. Cover with cloth or plastic wrap as before and leave in place until they increase in volume and a slight indentation remains when the dough is pressed with a finger tip, about 1 1/2 hours.

About an hour before baking, preheat the oven to 450. If you have a homemade hearth or baking stone, you are awesome and your bread is almost guaranteed to turn out. If you don't (like me) then this is where it gets interesting and practice makes perfect. Once the oven is preheated, spray (or fling, lacking a spray bottle) some water into the oven to steam it up (be super careful not to hit the lightbulb or it will explode if it's lit.)

Stick the bread into the oven on the baking sheet or turn it out from the couche onto the baking stone or whatever you are doing with it, and let it bake for 15-20 minutes. The first ten minutes, open the oven at 0, 5, and 10 minutes to spray water in and add moisture. (NOT on the bread, but around it)

Take them out at 15 minutes and check for doneness. Loaves will be a rich caramel color and crusts will be firm. Turn them over and strike the bottom firmly with your finger. If they are done, it will sound hollow. If they don't sound hollow, bake another 5 minutes.

They are best eaten warm, so don't wait to cool them completely before digging in. Seriously, the best way to eat these is to grab some friends and some quality olive oil, a glass of wine, and just dig in and dip.

Bon Appetit, and Sláinte!