Ina Garten has a confession to make, “When it comes to baking bread, the dirty little secret is: I have too short an attention span,” she says. “All that kneading and rising and watching and waiting. I just really want bread that I can make in one process and that’s why I love Irish Soda Bread ... You pull it together, put it in the oven, you’re done.”
To make Ina's classic Irish Soda Bread, dump all the dry ingredients together in the mixer, add the butter and mix until the pieces are the size of peas. “This is really like making scones, the butter keeps it nice and flakey.” Next, take your wet ingredients and pour them together in a measuring cup. “I love measuring cups. They’re great for mixing and then you can pour them right from there,” says Ina. Add the liquid slowly while the mixer is running so that it is incorporated and doesn’t just sit at the bottom.
The last thing Ina adds to her classic Irish soda bread is currants. She dusts them with a little bit of flour to keep them from sinking in the dough. “You want them well distributed,” says Ina. Then, warns Ina, don’t over mix the dough but don’t be afraid to flour your board generously when you bring the dough together. “It’s a very wet dough, you’re going to need it.” And that's it! No need to knead.
Put the bread into a 190-degree C oven for 45-55 minutes until it’s golden brown on the outside. “You know it’s done when you tap on it and you hear a slightly hollow sound,” says Ina. That sounds like a perfect St. Patrick’s Day breakfast to us!
