Irish Soda Bread

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Ingredients:
2 Cups Whole Wheat Pastry flour
(You can substitute 1 cup wheat and 1 cup All purpose flour or 2 cups all purpose flour)
1 Teasp. Salt
1 teasp. Baking Soda
1 Cup buttermilk( you may use milk (regular or skim with 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar added)

A large baking pot like a Dutch Oven that you can cover.
You can use 2 cake pans and use one as a cover.

If you are going to use a buttermilk substitute then add the lemon juice
to the milk and let it sit for 15 minutes

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
NOTE*You can use half whole wheat flour and half All purpose flour if you can't
find the Whole wheat pastry.

1. Blend your dry ingredients together.
To get a lighter product sift them together.

2. Mix in the milk and blend till you get a nice firm dough ball.
if it is too sticky add a tablespoon more flour. It shouldn't stick to your hands.

3. Shape the dough into a circle about 2 inches thick and make a cross in the dough like so with the back of a large knife.

4. I am using a large Dutch Oven here to put my dough in.

5. This works well because the thick bottom keeps an even temperature so the bottom crust doesn't get burned. The covered chamber creates a nice uniform heat as well so the whole loaf cooks evenly. This is also how the housewife in Ireland originally would cook this over an open fire.

6. Put this in the oven covered and set the timer for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes I turn down the heat and uncover the bread and cook for another 10 minutes.

7. Remove pot from oven to check bread. You will get a nice tap tap on the bottom crust when it is done

8. Wrap the soda bread in a towel for a bit. this absorbs some of the soda flavor and keeps it warm. Moisten the towel a bit to soften the crust a little if you want.