Baking with Friends Irish Soda Bread, Other Bread Recipes, and Stories Shared by Friends of Ceili of the Valley Compiled by Elisa Chandler For the City of Salem - Center 50+ March 12, 2021 List of Contributors: Aislinn Adams – Page 3 Anne Doherty – Pages 4-6 Deirdre Sharkey – Page 7 Geraldine Murray – Pages 8-11 Mary Rose Kerg – Pages 12-13 Susan Spencer – Pages 14-15 Elisa Chandler – page 16 Appendix 1 – Map of Ireland with Family Roots of Contributors (general areas) Appendix 2 – Pages from the Irish Centre of Pittsburgh’s Cookbook Many thanks to Center 50+ for the invitation to share a little bit of cooking and lots of great recipes and family stories centered on Irish Soda Bread and other favorite breads. The stories, photos, and recipes on the following pages were shared by Friends of Ceili of the Valley and are in their own words. I am very grateful to them all! I have not tested all of them out…so have fun experimenting https://ceiliofthevalley.org/ https://www.facebook.com/ceiliofthevalley/ https://celticfestival.info/ [email protected] Ceili of the Valley Society PO Box 221 | Salem, OR | 97308 Page | 2 Aislinn Adams “Memories of soda bread: I have strong memories of soda bread from my childhood. First off though, we called whole wheat soda bread, simply brown bread, but we did call the white version white soda bread. I remember the "spotted dog" white soda bread (with black raisins) better than the plain white. My memories are from the sixties when I was in National School (elementary school) in Ireland. I grew up in the Irish midlands (County Offaly) with 5 siblings- all of us very close in age. I don't know how my mother kept everything running so smoothly but she did have great help, Mrs. Owens. As children we called her "Mrs. Owens", back then children never referred to grown-ups by their first name, and this name stuck even into our adulthood. It was a team effort between my mother and Mrs. Owens. If one was cooking the other was cleaning, doing laundry, or ironing, and vice versa. When I think of soda bread I think of Mrs. Owens. She never used a weighing scales or any electrical tool. Everything was done by hand, measured out in spoons. We didn't have cup measurements in Ireland either, but somehow Mrs. Owens always knew how much of everything was right; years of baking made it second nature. She was always cheerful and kind and happily let us lick the spoons of her cake mixes (no worries about salmonella). I can still see her with the big traditional mixing bowl on her left hip and a wooden spoon in her free right hand. The best of all was when we would arrive home from school in the afternoon just as spotted dog or scones were coming out of the oven. They were left on cooling racks on the far counter in the kitchen- a big, bright, warm room. We would wait patiently until they were just cool enough to cut into slices, or in two; spread butter liberally, and eat while it melted. One of the best tastes and memories in the world :)” Aislinn Adams is a talented artist and specializes in botanical drawings. You can see samples of her work at: http://www.aislinnadams.com/ https://www.facebook.com/aislinnadamsdesign She has mentioned that the soda bread I have made for events is very similar to what she remembers…see the White Soda Bread recipe on page 16 Aislinn is a great supporter of Ceili of the Valley in many ways. She has been a presenter of the role of Women in Irish History, a generous donor of her artwork, and as a participant at our Ceilis and other events… just to name a few of the ways. She and her husband also open their home in Salem to host House Concerts. Which is one of the best ways to experience music! Page | 3 Anne Doherty Annie’s Soda Bread 3¾ to 4 cups regular flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp salt Sift all dry ingredients together Butter – optional. I use a third or half a stick of cold butter Cut the butter into the dry ingredients to texture of breadcrumbs 2 cups buttermilk Add buttermilk to the dry ingredients. Mix gently . Dough should be soft and pliable, but not wet. Drop the dough onto a lightly floured board. Do not knead – just shape into a 7 to 8 inch round. Cut an X on the top. Bake on buttered/floured baking sheet or cast-iron skillet (or you could use a loaf pan) Bake at 425 for 15 mins, then 400 for about 40 to 45 more mins I often make two at a time, then freeze one (or gift one) If you decide to make two, have everything mixed and ready in two bowls except for adding the buttermilk. Then add the buttermilk to each and prepare/shape them quickly (1 at a time). As once you add the buttermilk the chemical reaction with the soda starts immediately. Let it cool well before you cut it. See next page for options… Page | 4 Options – Add to the dry ingredients before you add the buttermilk. Dried herbs. I use about 1 tsp each of rosemary, basil and dill. The herbed bread is great toasted with butter and sharp marmalade. Or with cheeses or meats, or cream cheese/smoked salmon. Raisins, or raisins and caraway seeds. About ¾ to 1 cup of raisins, 1 tbsp caraway seeds. Dried cranberries - about ¾ to 1 cup. You could also add some orange zest. I often add 1 tbsp of sugar to this one to make it a bit sweeter. “My mother baked bread every day. It was a lot bigger than the one I make (we were a family of 8). We called it scone (which we pronounced 'scawn' - rhymes with dawn). Not sure if that's what they call it/pronounce it in the rest of Donegal. My home is in Inishowen. My mother baked it in the oven of a turf-fired range - no temperature controls, just 'hot enough'. I never wrote down her recipe. My recipe is from other sources/ trial and error.” Anne and her husband, Sam Keator, present concerts, Ceilis, and other live events in the Tualatin area through S&A Irish Entertainment and Events. They are looking forward (as we all are) to being able being having live events soon. They have been, and continue to be, great supporters of Ceili of the Valley and many of our dancers enjoy heading to Tualatin for their 1st Friday Ceili at the Winona Grange. For more information, once the world opens up again, go to: https://www.facebook.com/IrishPDX/ or https://irishpdx.com/ Page | 5 Here is another variation on Annie’s bread recipe that Anne shared with the All-Ireland Cultural Society for their Virtual St. Patrick’s Day Festival, to be held on March 17 th . Recipe was published in the March, 2021 edition of the An Seanachai, a publication of AICS. Annie’s Wheaten Bread Recipe - Courtesy of Anne Doherty 1. 1 and 2/3 cups regular flour 2. 1 cup whole wheat flour 3. 1 tsp salt 4. 1 tsp baking soda 5. 1 tsp baking powder 6. ½ stick cold butter 7. ¼ cup steel-cut oats (pinhead) 8. ¼ cup rolled oats 9. ¼ wheat bran – or oat bran 10. 1 tbsp brown sugar – optional 11. 1 and 1/3 cups buttermilk Pre-heat oven to 425F Mix the first 5 ingredients together Cut in the cold butter Mix in ingredients 7 to 10 Mix in the buttermilk Dough should be soft and not too sticky Drop onto a floured board Do not knead – just shape into a round about 6” diameter Cut an X on the top Optional – brush top lightly with buttermilk and drop on some rolled oats Bake on a buttered/floured baking sheet. I use a cast iron skillet/dish. Or you could use a loaf pan Bake at 425F for 10 minutes, then at 400F for another 45 to 50 minutes Page | 6 Deirdre Sharkey Deirdre is a friend of Tori Johnson, who is Elisa’s co-worker. Deirdre was visiting from Ireland and decided she would like to attend a Ceili of the Valley 2 nd Friday Ceili to celebrate her birthday. We think that was a special way to celebrate and were very happy to welcome her! This is the recipe she likes to make. She shared some additional tips too (at the end). Recipe is from: https://www.fromballymaloewithlove.com/recipes/traditional-brown-soda-bread Traditional Brown Soda Bread (1 loaf) The buttermilk in the shops is low fat but if you have access to rich, thick buttermilk, there is no need to add butter or extra cream. 225g (8oz/2 cups) brown wholemeal flour (preferably stone-ground) 225g (8oz/2 cups) plain white flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 level teaspoon bread soda (Bicarbonate of Soda/Baking Soda) sieved 12-25g (1/2 – 1oz) of butter or 2 tablespoons (2 1/2 American tablespoons) of sour or even fresh cream 400-425ml (14-15fl oz/1 3/4 cups – generous 1 3/4 cups) sour milk or buttermilk Wholemeal flour for the work top and baking sheet First preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/Gas Mark 8. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large wide bowl, rub in the butter (if using cream, add to the buttermilk) .