3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

When DH and I visited Ireland, we found this brown soda bread served in every county at every meal. It's divine and very SBD-safe. Of course, it tastes best with Irish butter on it...but that would send us to an early heart attack, so try it with Smart Balance (or another trans-fat-free margarine), instead. We had this with a hearty bean and green soup from Cooking Light and it made for a delicious meal. :T My notes are in brackets in red.

Quote:

Mummy's Brown Soda Bread

"My mother, Elizabeth O'Connell, now 82, still makes this soda bread every day," says Allen. Scoring a deep cross into the surface of the dough is called "blessing the bread." Because the bread uses baking soda as a leavener, it requires minimal kneading and no rising, so you can bake it just before supper and serve it warm.

2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces) [I used Whole Wheat Pastry or White Whole Wheat flour]
2 cups whole wheat flour (about 9 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk [I used 1% fat buttermilk...not sure if that changes the nut'l info...]
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450°.

Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Add buttermilk to flour mixture; stir until blended (dough will be sticky). Turn dough out onto a generously floured surface; knead lightly 4 to 5 times. Shape dough into an 8-inch round loaf; place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Cut a 1/4-inch-deep X in the top of the dough.

Bake at 450° for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400° (do not remove bread from oven); bake 15 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 1 loaf, 12 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 169 (10% from fat); FAT 1.9g (sat 0.9g,mono 0.1g,poly 0.2g); IRON 1.7mg; CHOLESTEROL 6mg; CALCIUM 10mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.4g; SODIUM 355mg; PROTEIN 6.2g; FIBER 3g

Cooking Light, MARCH 2007