Irish Soda Bread

This is the best recipe I have found for Irish Soda Bread! It isn't as dry as some others I have found. I also have been known to add orange zest and dried cranberries instead of currants. I found this recipe at Kraftrecipes.com. Click on the heading below to go to their site for the recipe.

Irish Soda Bread

HEAT oven to 350°. MIX flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add buttermilk and currants; stir just until moistened. PLACE dough on lightly floured surface; knead 10 times. Shape into 2½” thick round.

Place on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Cut deep ½” "X" in top of dough; sprinkle with remaining sugar. BAKE 1 hour or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet to wire rack; cool completely before cutting into wedges. It was a huge hit at work AND at home when I made it.

Amazing Crusty Bread - SUPER EASY!!

Wow, wow and WOW!! Is this bread ever tasty! The crunch on the exterior is amazing, and then you bite into it and it is soft and chewy on the interior. It is hard to believe it is SO easy to make this bread. It truly does taste like it was made be a professional bread baker! I recently ate dinner at a restaurant and the crust was chewy and hard to bite into...they need this recipe! lol

Crusty Bread from Simplysogood.blogspot.com

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1¾ tsp salt
½ tsp yeast
1½ cups water

DO NOT OIL OR SPRAY PAN. This bread will NOT stick!! In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt and yeast.

Add water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 12 - 18 hours. This is a MUST. Overnight works great.

Heat oven to 450°. When the oven has reached 450° place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let set while the pot is heating. Remove hot pot from the oven and drop in the dough. Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool. This bread is SO amazing and couldn’t be simpler. I made one with orange zest (from one orange), almonds and dried cranberries – so yummy!

My next loaf will be fresh rosemary, garlic & parmesan.
Here are some variations that the blog owner has made: Pepper jack cheese, Jalapeno cheddar, Raisin walnut cinnamon, Pumpkin sunflower poppy seed, Sharp cheddar, Rosemary lemon Gruyere, Lemon thyme Asiago, Asiago, Mixed herb with rosemary, chives and thyme and plain. She experimented using wheat flour and said that whole wheat was WAY too heavy…even with she used just 1 cup of wheat flour. Said it was okay but not great. She uses a 5.5 quart enamel cast iron pot. This size is perfect. She also uses an oval pot that is about 7.5-8 quarts. She was also told that ceramic deep dishes work well. I have been using my Pampered Chef Deep Dish Roaster with the Cover. I was surprised to find the bread pops right out and does not stick!!!

BEEF STROGANOFF

This dish is probably in my list of top 5 all-time favorite dishes. I'm pretty sure the LOADS of butter I use may play a small part in that rating ;).

Beef Stroganoff
Butter and/or olive oil for frying
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 medium onions, sliced thin
1 (20-oz) sirloin steak, cut into 1” strips
1/2 flour, for dredging
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 garlic powder
½ cup red wine, plus more for deglazing pan
16 oz beef consomme, or beef stock
1 pint sour cream
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper
Egg noodles or rice as an accompaniment
Parsley, for garnish (optional)

In a hot sauté pan melt butter and sauté the mushrooms first and then add the onions. The mushrooms take a little longer. Season the flour with salt, pepper and garlic powder and dredge the meat in the flour. In another sauté pan or skillet, melt butter and brown strips of sirloin that have been dredged in flour, and set aside. When the onions, mushrooms and meat are done, deglaze both of the pans with a little red wine and combine all ingredients into one pan. Add 2 cups beef stock, wine, ½ of the pint of sour cream, and the Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes. During the cooking the sour cream will separate and some of the butterfat will become visible. This is normal, just stir the pot. Just before serving add the balance of the sour cream, stir to combine. Serve over noodles or brown rice and garnish with parsley.
Difficulty: Easy Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour Yield: 4 to 6 Servings
This recipe was found on FoodNetwork.com. I made a few changes to it. It had been submitted by one of their viewers.