Whole-Wheat Soda Bread
Book Report
- Course: Bread
Summary:
Cookbook author Lisa Yockelson uses King Arthur 100 Percent Organic Whole Wheat Flour for this surprisingly tender-crumbed bread.
Chopped walnuts (3/4 cup) can be added with the dry ingredients.
MAKE AHEAD: The bread can be baked up to 2 days in advance.
Makes one small round loaf (about 13 slices)
Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole-wheat flour (see headnote)
- 1 1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose bleached flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 5 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 1 1/3 cups whole or low-fat buttermilk
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons wheat bran, for coating the dough
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a heavy baking sheet with parchment paper.
Sift the whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and whisk to combine. Drop in the chunks of butter; use a pastry blender or two rounded table knives to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it is reduced to flakes and pea-size bits.
Whisk together the buttermilk, egg and vanilla extract in a small mixing bowl.
Pour the buttermilk mixture over the flour mixture and stir to form a dough, which will be moist and come together in large patches. Use your clean hands to gather and form the dough into a mass that adheres to itself. Do not knead or overwork the dough; that would yield a densely textured crumb.
Sprinkle a work surface with the wheat bran. Transfer the dough to the work surface; gently smooth and roll the dough into a well-domed sphere that is 5 to 5 1/2 inches in diameter, allowing it to take up a light coating of the bran; the bran will adhere to the dough randomly.
Transfer the dough ball to the center of the baking sheet. Use a small sharp knife to cut a shallow 4-by-4-inch cross on top of the bread. (If the cut is deeper than 1/4 inch, it will allow the loaf to bake out of shape. If that happens, reduce the baking time by about 4 minutes.) Bake for 40 minutes or until set. The baked bread will sound hollow when gently tapped on the bottom. Let the bread stand on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer the loaf to a cooling rack.
Serve barely warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Recipe Source:
Adapted from "Baking Style," by Lisa Yockelson (Wiley, 2011).
E-mail the Food Section with recipe questions.
