Baking bread is my favorite thing to do. You can never have too much bread or too many varieties. I normally don’t bake soda bread because they tend to be dense. I wanted to give it a go and try to make it a little less dense. The flavors of cheese, bacon and fresh herbs came quick to me as additions I wanted to add. I started to wonder about what additions might make it less dense? Besides a little more liquid from the buttermilk, I felt it needed an egg. The end result didn’t disappoint at all. My whole family loved it! By the end of the day, more than half the loaf was gone.
I recommend putting out all your ingredients before you start, so you have everything at hand.
Fresh herbs, washed and ready to use. I used parsley, rosemary and a little basil. You can use any herbs you prefer.
I’ve included bacon to add that extra bit of savory flavor. Make sure you bake until it is nice and crispy.
Let the bacon sit on a paper towel for a bit to catch the grease.
Make sure you chop your herbs nice and small.
Combine the flour mixture with the bacon, herbs and cheese. Slowly mix them together. By adding them now it prevents them from sticking together and makes sure it is evenly distributed in your bread.
Combine all the liquid and eggs before adding to the dry mixture.
Pour the liquid into the dry mixture and gently combine it together. Make sure not to overmix or knead the dough. If the mixture is to dry add more buttermilk.
With a sharp knife score a cross on top of your bread.
Baked till golden brown and a skewer inside the loaf comes out clean. Before enjoying this delicious bread let it cool on a cooling rack.
Bacon and Cheese Soda Bread
Ingredients
- 3 Cups Unbleached Flour
- 1 Cup Pastry Flour
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Cream Tartar
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Salt
- 1/4 Cup Fresh herbs; Parsley, Rosemary Chopped fine. I used one stem of rosemary and the rest parsley.
- 4 Oz Cheese shredded
- 4 Strips Bacon baked to a crisp
- 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter melted and cooled
- 3/4 Cup Buttermilk 3/4 cup – 1 cup *
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 1 Egg room temperature
Instructions
- Cook your bacon to a crisp and let it drain on a paper towel. Wash your herbs and chop. Set them aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375 Farhenheit.
- Combine in a bowl: flour, pastry flour, baking soda, cream tartar and salt.
- Add the chopped herbs, bacon and the grated cheese to the flour mixture and combine well.
- In another bowl combine the buttermilk with the egg, butter and honey.
- Slowly add the liquid to the flour and fold it in. Be careful not to overmix or knead the dough or the bread will turn out dense.* When it is just combined place it on a baking sheet with parchement paper and form a circle of around 6 inches in diameter and about 2 inches thick. Score your dough with a sharp knife by cutting a cross shape in the top of the loaf.
- Bake the loaf in the preheated oven until it is golden brown and sounds hollow when you softly knock on the bottom of the loaf. If prefered you can also check by inserting a skewer inside the loaf and see if it comes out clean! This takes around 40-45 minutes.
- Let it cool on a cooling rack