Irish Wheaten Bread

The Water Mirrors A Still Sky

Quite a while back I acquired a signed copy of Richard Corrigan’s excellent first cookery book: The Richard Corrigan Cookbook – from the waters and the wild.

I’m incredibly ashamed to say, that despite the having a delightful collection of recipes, from the traditional Irish (Irish spiced beef) albeit with a twist, to the decadent (hot duck fois gras with apple, lime and shredded sorrel).

I decided to make my first bake, a soda bread (arán sóide). I did this for two reasons: firstly despite baking an awful lot of soda bread and mentioning it a fair bit on here, I have yet to actually include a recipe; and, secondly because Richard’s description of it made my mouth water …

“This comes from my wife Maria’s mother. It is one of the best soda breads I have ever eaten. Try it with smoked salmon”

The recipe really did make the best soda bread I have ever eaten, and that is saying something, sure I’ve eaten enough of it over the years.

I made a couple of changes to the recipe though, I didn’t add the bran as I didn’t have any and I used brown soda flour from Shipton Mill (which as a side note does contain some flakes of bran) in place of the regular wholemeal flour Richard suggests.

In the early and mid 1800’s, rural Ireland did not have a strong tradition of yeast bread making. Baking was done in the home and, in addition to having limited supplies, time was often at a premium. The use of baking soda as a leavening agent was quick, effective and it produced a much more consistent result than yeast did. It caught on quickly, making soda breads a staple of the Irish diet.

Soda bread is heartier than most yeast breads and pairs very well with soups, stews and meat dishes. It also makes outstanding toast. The wholemeal variety (oftern referred to simply as brown bread or wheaten bread) makes the perfect partner to seafood salad.

The deep cross in the loaf is supposed to let out the fairies – so that the bread won’t be jinxed by evil spirits! In reality, of course, it just allows the heat to penetrate the loaf as it’s cooking.

In keeping with the knowledge that wheaten bread is the perfect partner for seafood, that’s exactly how I served it. Slathered with butter, fresh from the oven with a platter of Irish seafood and a little home made lemon mayonnaise.

Think of Irland’s culinary highlights and one that remains high on the list is the excellence and freshness of its seafood. Think of gastronomic Ireland and you picture smoked wild Atlantic salmon, plump native oysters, seared scallops, Dublin Bay prawns, and juicy crab – all delivered from boat to plate in hours, not days.

Richard Corrigan’s Soda Bread

• 250g plain wholemeal flour (I used Shipton Mill Brown Soda Bread Flour)
• 125g self raising white flour
• 125g pinhead oatmeal
• 60g bran (I omitted this)
• 30g wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 2 tablespoons treacle
• 600ml buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 170C or the equivalent
2. Combine the flours, oatmeal, bran, wheat germ, salt and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl.
3. Add the treacle and gradually add the buttermilk, stirring gently until you get a moist dough.
4. Turn the dough on to a well floured worksurface and cut in half.
5. Knead each half very gently about ten times, so the surface is smooth. Shape into a ball and using a sharp knife slash a cross in the top of each one.
6. Place on a floured baking tray, and (optionally) brush with milk and scatter with large porridge oats, before baking for 50 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the base.
7. Cool on a wire rack and then eat while really fresh.

Lemon Mayonnaise

• 2 medium egg yolks
• 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 300ml sunflower or rapeseed oil
• Good squeeze fresh lemon juice

1. Sit a large bowl on a cloth to stop it moving. Put the egg yolks into the bowl with the Dijon mustard and a little seasoning and whisk well until smooth.
2. Gradually add the oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking all the time. You should have a smooth, quite thick mayonnaise that stands in peaks.
3. Add lemon juice to taste and briefly whisk.
4. If it’s too thick, whisk in a few drops of warm water to give a good consistency.

Go on give it a try!

Tagged as: baking, bran, Bread, brown bread, buttermilk, Cookery Book, crab, Ireland, Irish, lemon, mayonnaise, oatmeal, oats, Prawns, Recipe, Richard Corrigan, seafood, seafood salad, Shipton Mill, smoked salmon, soda bread, The Richard Corrigan Cook Book, tradition, wheat germ, wheaten bread, wholemeal, wholemeal flour