(le Róislín)

Mí na Nollag!  Seo an séasúr le bheith ag bácáil.  Brioscaí, cístí, fíoracha sinséir, donnóga, agus araile.  Ach má tá tú ag iarraidh gan barraíocht rudaí milse a dhéanamh i mbliana, seo oideas d’arán blasta.  Níl siúcra ar bith ann, ar ndóigh, ach má tá tú ag iarraidh blas beagán milis, bain triail as le subh nó leathán torthaí, agus le him freisin, más mian leat.  Is maith liomsa go mór na subha agus na leatháin nach bhfuil siúcra ar bith iontu.  Tá siad milis ach níl siad rómhilis.  Ní hiad na táirgí le milseoirí bréige atá i gceist agam mar ní maith liom iadsan ach oiread ach táirgí a úsáideann torthaí mar mhilseoirí nádúrtha mar atá ag comhlachtaí mar Polaner agus Crofters (www.polanerspreads.com agus www.croftersorganic.com; dála an scéil, níl baint ar bith agam leo).

Pé scéal é, seo an t-oideas, an chlasaic Éireannach, arán sóide (soda bread).   Simplí mar níl giosta aráin nó éirí de dhíth air.  Tá dhá chineál arán sóide ann, ceann le plúr bán agus ceann eile le plúr donn.  Déantar an t-oideas sa bhlag seo le plúr donn (lánchruithneacha) agus bán.  Tá an t-oideas coitianta go leor ach cuirimse rud éigin isteach nach gcuireann an chuid is mó daoine, fad m’eolais.  Cén rud é sin?  Léigh leat!

Arán Sóide (donn): Na Comhábhair

plúr donn: ceithre chupán agus plúr bán: dhá chupán

bláthach, bainne géar, nó bainne géaraithe le gealtartar: cupán amháin agus giota beag eile má tá sé de dhíth don uigeacht

sóid aráin (décharbónáit sóidiam): taespúnóg amháin

salann: taespúnóg amháin, agus gráinnín eile don ghlónra

Agus más rogha leat:

gealacán uibhe (ón ubh a úsáidfidh tú don ghlónra — an gealacán mar chomhábhar san arán agus an buíocán don ghlónra) — thosaigh mé le seo a dhéanamh mar cad é eile a dhéanfá le gealacán ubh amháin?  Ní leor d’uibheagán é agus ní mórán é le n-ithe leis féin.  Cuir an gealacán (é buailte) sa bhainne nó cuir sa taos é nuair a bheas an taos leathmheasctha agus measc níos mó é.  Is é mo bharúil go mbíonn an t-arán beagán níos éadroime le gealacán na huibhe ann.  Agus is í troime an príomhdháinséar a bhaineanns le bácáil arán sóide.  Amanna tagann sé amach mar bhríce, róthrom.  Tharla sé dom uair amháin, pé scéal é.  I ndiaidh na huaire sin, fadhb ar bith.

Glónra (rud nach bhfuil i ngach oideas arán sóide ach rud a dhéanaim féin, de ghnáth): buíocán uibhe agus beagán uisce agus gráinnín salainn, measctha le chéile go dtí go bhfuil sé mar leacht gan chnapanna gan righne.

Más mian leat, is féidir rudaí mar chuiríní nó rísíní a chur ann, nó le bheith neamhthraidisiúnta, síolta lus na gréine, cnónna mionghearrtha, srl.

Treoracha

1. Measc na comhábhair thirime le chéile i mbáisín agus déan “tobar” (poll) sa lár.
2. Cuir an chuid is mó den bhainne sa tobar, go leor de le taos tiubh a dhéanamh (ach fág giota beag den bhainne amuigh; seans go mbeidh sé de dhíth níos moille).
3. Measc le spúnóg adhmaid é. Ba chóir go mbeadh an meascán bog ach gan a bheith fliuch. Measc go héadrom agus go tapaidh é.  Má tá an meascán rórighin, úsáid beagán níos mó bainne.
4. Cuir beagán plúir ar do lámha agus cuir an meascán ar losaid phlúrtha nó ar chlár plúrtha agus leacaigh an taos i gcruth ciorcail thart fá orlach go leith ar airde.
5. Cuir an glónra ar an taos le scuab thaosráin. Tá a lán cineálacha glónra ann ach má úsáideann tú ubh amh sa ghlónra, cuirtear ar an arán roimh bhácáil é.
6. Cuir an taos ar leathán bácála smeartha (le him nó le hola chócaireachta) agus gearr cros mhór thairis le scian phlúrtha. I mo thaithí féin, is féidir leathán bácála cothrom nó panna builín cruinn a úsáid. I mo thaithí féin, ar a laghad, coinníonn an t-arán a chruth, fiú ar leathán cothrom.  Tar éis an tsaoil, is taos é — ní fuidreamh é.
7. Bácáil in oigheann 375-400°F ar feadh 40 nóiméad é.
8. Úsáid tástálaí císte (nó scian) le fáil amach an bhfuil sé réidh nó nach bhfuil. Bí cinnte go dtagann an tástálaí amach glan lonrach agus nach bhfuil taos amh (neamhbhácáilte) fós ann. Má tá sé taosach fós, lig don arán bácáil ar feadh, b’fhéidir, cúig nóiméad eile agus tástáil aríst é.
9. Lig don arán fuarú ar raca sreinge agus ansin cuir éadach glan mar thuáille tae thart ar an arán chun é a choinneáil bog go dtí go n-itear é.
10. Bain sult as!

Sin é, arán sóide.  An-bhlasta, go mór mór le him agus le subh, mar a dúirt mé thuas.  Nó le cáis.

Chuala mé i gcónaí gan arán úr a ithe agus é te fós ón oigheann.  Leis an fhírinne a dhéanamh, níl a fhios agam cén fáth.   Ach is dócha gur chóir gan an t-arán seo a ithe go dtí go bhfuil sé fionnuar (ag teocht an tseomra).  Ansin, plac ort.  SGF — Róislín

PS: I found one especially helpful website that shows six rolls with different glazes, plain (no glaze), water, egg white, egg yolk, butter, and milk (www.thefreshloaf.com/lessons/glazing).  All the glazes look good, but the egg yolk one is the shiniest.

And here’s another site which has a brief history of Irish soda bread and answers a question I’ve long wondered about.  When was baking soda introduced into Ireland?   I don’t suppose the SeanGhaeil had it!  According to Abigail’s Bakery, it was in the 1840s.  Suimiúil!  Seo an nasc: www.abigailsbakery.com/bread-recipes/history-of-irish-soda-bread.htm.  Agus mo chlásal séanta, I have no connection with Abigail’s Bakery; they just happened to be the first hit I got looking at the history of soda bread and their website looks impressive.

Tuilleadh eolais faoin ngrafaic: {{Information| |Description = Whole wheat soda bread. |Source = http://www.flickr.com/photos/moria/18672876/ |Date = June 11, 2005 |Author = Heather “Moria” |Permission = cc-by-2.0 |other_versions = }} {{cc-by-2.0}} Category:Bread

A Recipe in Irish: Irish Soda Bread (a translation of: Oideas i nGaeilge: Arán Sóide Éireannach)

(by Róislín)

December (lit. the Month of Christmas)!  This is the season to be baking.  Cookies, cakes, gingerbread men, brownies, et cetera.  But if you don’t want to be making too many sweet things this year, here’s a recipe for a tasty bread.  There’s no sugar at all in it, of course, but if you want a little bit of a sweet taste, try it with jam or a fruit spread, and with butter also, if you like.  I really like the jams and spreads that don’t have any sugar.  They’re sweet, but not too sweet.  I don’t mean the products with artificial sweeteners because I don’t like them either, but products that use fruit as a natural sweetener, made by companies such as Polaner and Crofters (www.polanerspreads.com and www.croftersorganic.com, neither of which I have any connection to).

Anyway, here’s the recipe, the Irish classic, soda bread.  Simple, because it doesn’t need baker’s yeast or to rise.  There are two types, with white flour and with brown flour.  The recipe in this blog is made with a mixture of brown (whole-wheat) and white flour.  The recipe is common enough but I put something in that, as far as I know, most people don’t.  What’s that?  Read on!

Soda Bread (brown): The Ingredients

brown flour: four cups and white flour: two cups

buttermilk, sour milk, or milk soured with cream of tartar: one cup and a little more if needed for the texture

baking soda (bicarbonate of soda): one teaspoon

salt: a teaspoon, and an extra pinch for the glaze

And, optionally:

an egg white (from the egg you’ll use for the glaze — the white as an ingredient in the bread and the yolk for the glaze) — I started to do this because what else would you do with the white of one egg?  It’s not enough for an omelette and it’s not much to eat by itself.  Put the egg white (beaten) in the milk or put it in the dough when it’s partially mixed and mix it some more.  In my opinion, the bread is a little lighter with the egg white in it.   And heaviness is the main danger concerning soda bread.  Sometimes it comes out like a brick, too heavy.  It happened to me once, anyway.  After that time, no problem.

Glaze (something that’s not in every soda bread recipe but which I usually do): an egg yolk and a little water and a pinch of salt, mixed together until it’s a liquid without lumps or stringiness (ropiness). 

If you want, you can add things like currants or raisins, or to be non-traditional, sunflower seeds, chopped nuts, etc. 

Instructions

1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a basin and make a “well” ((hole) in the middle.
2. Put most of the milk in the well, enough of it to make a thick dough (but leave a little bit of the milk out; perhaps it will be needed later)
3. Mix it with a wooden spoon. The mixture should be soft but not wet. Mix it lightly and quickly.  If the mixture is too stiff, use a little more milk. 
4. Put a little flour on your hands and put the mixture on a floured kneading-trough or on a floured board and flatten the dough in the shape of a circle about an inch and a half high.
5. Put the glaze on the dough with a pastry brush. There are many types of glaze, but if you use raw egg in the glaze, it is put on the bread before baking.
6. Put the dough on a baking sheet greased (with butter or with cooking oil) and cut a big cross across it with a floured knife. In my experience, one can use either a flat baking sheet or a round or rectangular loaf pan.  In my own experience, the bread keeps its shape, even on a flat sheet.  After all, it’s a dough, not a batter. 
7. Bake it in 375-400°F oven for 40 minutes.
8. Use a cake tester (or a knife) to find out if it’s ready or not. Be sure the tester comes out clean and shiny, without any raw (unbaked) dough still on it.  If it is still doughy, let the bread bake for another, say, five minutes, and test it again. 
9. Let the bread cool on a wire rack and then put a clean cloth, like a tea towel, around the bread to keep it soft until it is eaten.
10. Enjoy!

That’s it, soda bread.  Very tasty, especially with butter and jam, as I said above.  Or with cheese.

I have always heard that one shouldn’t eat fresh bread while it’s warm from the oven.  To tell the truth, I don’t know why.  But I suppose it’s better not to eat this bread until it is cool (room temperature).  Then, dig in!  Goodbye for now– Róislín

PS: I found one especially helpful website that shows six rolls with different glazes, plain (no glaze), water, egg white, egg yolk, butter, and milk (www.thefreshloaf.com/lessons/glazing).  All the glazes look good, but the egg yolk one is the shiniest. 

And here’s another site which has a brief history of Irish soda bread and answers a question I’ve long wondered about.  When was baking soda introduced into Ireland?   I don’t suppose the ancient Irish had it!  According to Abigail’s Bakery, it was in the 1840s.  Interesting! Here’s the link: www.abigailsbakery.com/bread-recipes/history-of-irish-soda-bread.htm.  And my disclaimer,  I have no connection with Abigail’s Bakery; they just happened to be the first hit I got looking at the history of soda bread and their website looks impressive. 

More info on the graphic: {{Information| |Description = Whole wheat soda bread. |Source = http://www.flickr.com/photos/moria/18672876/ |Date = June 11, 2005 |Author = Heather “Moria” |Permission = cc-by-2.0 |other_versions = }} {{cc-by-2.0}} Category:Bread