Those aren't burnt spots, their sweet dried cranberries. Yumm!
This week I have been terrible with getting my posts up for the dishes I have created. No real excuses, just life. But I will have a really yummy winter meal coming in one of my next posts – creamy polenta with chicken in a mushroom red wine sauce 🙂
But first things, first. Today is St. Paddy’s day, and in true St. Patrick’s day style, I have a corned beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots cooking away in my crock pot right now. My hubby is Irish, so today is sort of a big deal to him. Bigger than any other holiday. He has mandated (rather lovingly) that we listen to the Celtic station on Pandora ALL day. So, as I am typing away my foot is tapping to the tune of an Irish jig. [Oh yeah!]
Since I didn’t really do anything special with the corned beef and cabbage, I felt the need to make the homemade Irish soda bread with a twist. But really, the truth is… I just don’t like following recipes. Perhaps it is a need to make my life more difficult than it needs to be, or maybe it is just that cooking and baking is a creative outlet for me. 😉 Yep, that’s it.
I’m not as confident in my baking skills as I am in my cooking, probably because baking is more of a science. As such, I typically start a baking adventure by finding an inspiration recipe to go off of and then make it my own if possible. This recipe is inspired by the recipe for Irish Soda Bread by Barefoot Contessa, I just love her.
I can’t resist orange and cranberry flavors balanced with a little nuttiness. Below is my recipe for Cranberry Orange Hazelnut Irish Soda Bread.
Ingredients
Inspired by Barefoot Contessa’s recipe for Irish Soda Bread
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dried cranberries
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 3/4 cups cold buttermilk, shaken (or buttermilk substitute)
- 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk, warmed
- sprinkle of cornmeal for baking dish (or you can use parchment paper)
- Aluminum foil
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle a pie pan with cornmeal .
Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed into the flour.
With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Combine the dried cranberries with 2 teaspoons of flour and mix into the dough. Add the chopped hazelnuts and mix. The dough will be very sticky.
Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared pie pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with a serrated knife.
Combine the melted butter and warmed buttermilk. Brush the top of the loaf with the melted butter mixture. Continue to brush the mixture on the dough throughout baking process (every 15 minutes or so). Bake for 45 to 55 minutes; keep an eye on the loaf and after it becomes golden brown cover with aluminum foil for rest of baking time. Loaf is done when a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.
Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Leave me a comment and let me know how you life it!
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