Brownies Trials – An Irish Soda Bread Recipe.

Well, what a busy week it has been – I have hardly had time to turn around this week as the webshop orders have increased  as well as the collection orders. So it seems my little home baking business is starting to move in the right direction and the best part is that I am working in the warm and not on a cold market stall, as well as, being available for my children.  I think I am getting old but I am loving my job right now. 🙂 Some of this week has involved brownie trials which is a great thing to do.

The brownie trials have been eaten by my family so nothing has gone to waste as I wanted to try out the latest crazy idea of crisps on brownies but I went one step further and added some in the mixture to bake in the oven. Oh, I also used hula hoops which looked really weird. The brownies tasted fine with the crisps rather like salted brownies but not my cup of tea. My husband enjoyed them and one of my children who seemed to pull the crisps off the brownie and eat the crisps separate to the brownie. Sort of defeats the object I know but he enjoyed it.  After baking the different brownies this week and sharing the “Easter Giveaway on my Facebook page” for a brownie traybake covered in ganache and Easter sweets where all you have to do is like my page and share the post which is pinned to the top of my Facebook page.

Working on this idea got me thinking about all the different brownie recipes out there and how different they all are. So for the weekend and the beginning of next week, I am going to be playing about with my own recipe – not too much but enough to make a different type of brownie. I will share the results next week and add some to the webshop plus maybe do a Friday collection at some point.

As it is “St. Patricks Day” tomorrow, I have baked some Irish Soda Bread because all my family love homemade bread and nothing beats it. You don’t need a fancy breadmaking machine for this bread as there is no kneading or proving involved. Soda Bread has no yeast in it so you have to be light to the touch when making it. This bread is really easy to make and the children will love having a go and making it.

I think it looks like a giant Hot Cross Bun with the cross in the centre and there is a dough like texture to the bread but some people say it is rather scone like. I am really looking forward to trying this Soda Bread with jam and butter. A suggestion made by a good friend of mine from my market days – a born and bred Irish lady).

Using buttermilk in the recipe reminds me of my Naan Breads recipe but with a lot less ingredients. The other good thing is that buttermilk is so cheap in Tesco’s (50p a pot) but if you don’t want to buy it you can always make your own with milk and lemon juice.

There are so many recipes out there to try but I am going to be using this one as a base and add to it. I am going to make the loaf again as there is not much left since my husband came home for his lunch. My children will love this bread with its nutty outer crust and salty tasting soft centre. It is delicious smothered in jam and butter and I am sure this loaf will not last 24 hours in my house. 🙂

This Irish Soda Bread is a very healthy recipe with very little fat in the recipe due to there being no egg or butter included. (apart from the butter you spread on the slices before you eat them). There is some fibre due to the wholemeal flour. You could always increase the ratio of wholemeal to plain flour in the recipe to increase the fibre content. The carbohydrates and calories comes from the flour but you have to have some calories. Also, one slice is enough as the bread is quite filling.