Caraway Soda Bread

One of the things I love about making soda bread is that it is just so darn easy. With yeast breads you have to proof the yeast, knead the dough, let the dough rise, etc. But with soda breads, there’s no proofing, kneading, or waiting.

In fact, because the leavening comes from mixing the base of the baking soda with the acid in the buttermilk (remember those fascinating-at-the-time childhood experiments of sprinkling vinegar onto baking soda?), you pretty much pop it in the oven as soon as you put the dough together.

The trick is to use a light hand, just work the dough barely enough to bring it together. It looks like a sheep-doggy shaggy mess, but it bakes up beautifully—lightly browned and crusty on the outside, while soft and tender on the inside.

As for the caraway seeds in this soda bread, these are included on the light side, giving a not-so-over powering caraway kick to the bread.

Caraway Soda Bread Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour (1 pound)
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 4 Tbsp butter (1/2 stick) room temp
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk*

*If necessary, you can substitute buttermilk with a half cup of plain yogurt mixed in with a cup of plain milk and a tablespoon of white vinegar.

Read More: Caraway Soda Bread