Many of us do not make homemade bread as our ancestors did. My mother-in-law made her own bread every week. Lucky for me, my husband doesn’t miss homemade bread too much.
Egyptians were the first to use a “starter” wild yeast from the air to leaven dough. According to legend, a royal slave forgot the dough he set aside. When he returned, it had doubled in size. Trying to hide his mistake, he punched the dough furiously and baked it. The finished bread was the lightest anyone had tasted.
Bread making is an art.
Time, temperature and humidity all need to be just perfect for the bread to rise. For the novice baker, start with a non-yeast bread like Irish Soda Bread. It uses baking soda instead of yeast to rise.
Some breads rise because of ingredients other than yeast, like baking soda and baking powder. Bread made with these types of ingredients rise in the oven while baking. Therefore, time, temperature and humidity are not factors as when using yeast.
The most common leavening agent is carbon dioxide, a gas produced by a chemical reaction with baking soda, baking powder or yeast in a recipe. Baking soda produces the carbon dioxide needed for leavening (rising) when it is heated. When used as a leavening agent, baking soda also reacts with acidic ingredients to give a neutral, tasteless residue. Common examples of these acidic ingredients include sour milk, buttermilk, molasses, cream of tartar, lemon juice and the acidic substances in baking powder. The recipe below uses buttermilk. The buttermilk mixed with baking soda will neutralize the baking soda flavor yet still let the bread rise while baking.
Irish Soda Bread
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
1 tsp salt
Mix it all together. Do not overmix. Lightly dust cutting board with flour. Knead dough 5 times only. Place dough onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes at 425°. Enjoy!
