In preparation for St Patrick's Day, we tried a traditional soda bread recipe in the Solavore Sport. We followed the recipe as written, then made two small changes when it came time to bake. We divided the dough in to two smaller loaves instead of one big one. We also extended the cooking time, which is par for the course in solar baking. The result was a wonderful moist loaf that was crispy on the outside.
Ingredients
4 cups flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 tbsp. butter
1 cup dried currants
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1⁄2–2 cups buttermilk
for egg wash:
one egg
2 tbsp buttermilk
Directions
Set your oven outside to preheat.
Sift together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.
Using a pastry cutter or two knives, work butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then stir in currants. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix in with a spoon until dough is too stiff to stir. Gently knead the dough with your hands just long enough to form a round ball.
Divide dough in to two balls. Shape in to round loaves and place on a parchment covered baking sheet. You could also bake these in your graniteware pots, uncovered.
Make egg wash by beating together one egg and two tablespoons buttermilk. Brush egg wash on top of each loaf.
Bake in the Solavore Sport with reflectors attached. Begin checking for doneness after one hour. The bread is done when you see some browning and it sounds hollow when you tap the loaf. Ours took about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
