Author Notes
I love soda bread for its not-too-sweet taste and chewy texture. I’m not a skilled baker, but soda bread is simple enough and doesn’t require me to shape dough into leaves (or anything of that nature that would immediately throw me into a cold sweat). ☺ The traditional soda bread with raisins or currants is always a favorite, but this time I wanted something slightly sweeter and more seasonal.
For this recipe, I was inspired by Jennifer McGruther’s brown soda bread with currants and flaked oats in The Nourished Kitchen. Instead of the currants and oats, I used Honeycrisp apple bits that I baked with spices and brown sugar. I modified the dough accordingly to accommodate the additional moisture from the apples, and also doctored it up with spices and sugar. McGruther advises letting the dough sit for hours, but I skipped this step because I wanted to eat soda bread for breakfast!
—Danielle at Sweet Home Sauce
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Ingredients
- For the dough
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4 1/2 cups
whole wheat flour
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1 1/2 cups
buttermilk
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1/4 cup
light brown sugar
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1 1/4 teaspoons
baking soda
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1 teaspoon
kosher salt
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1/2 teaspoon
cinnamon
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1/2 teaspoon
nutmeg
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1/2 teaspoon
vanilla extract
- Sweet, spiced apples
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2
medium-large Honeycrisp apples
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2 tablespoons
light brown sugar
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1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
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1/2 teaspoon
cinnamon
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1 splash
Water
Directions
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, slowly pour the buttermilk into the flour. Mix until a dry and “shaggy” dough forms. Let sit while you work on the apples.
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Peel and chop the apples, and mix with sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract and a splash of water. Place in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Fold the parchment paper over the apples and bake for 20 minutes.
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Remove the apples from the pan and toss in strainer to remove excess liquid. They will retain some liquid…it’s ok. Let cool.
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Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
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Go back to the dough. Mix in the cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, vanilla extract, salt and baking soda. Once the apples have cooled a bit, add them to the dough mixture. Adding the apples should be the key to giving your dough the right amount of moisture. If not, add a bit more buttermilk.
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Toss some flour onto a counter/chopping block, remove dough from bowl and place in the center. If the dough is too wet to remove cleanly from the bowl, add a bit more flour.
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Turn the dough a couple of times to form into a ball. Use a sharp knife to make an “x” on the top of the ball, going about a quarter inch deep. Brush the top of the dough with a light layer of heavy cream.
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Place the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 450 degrees for 25 minutes.
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Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees, and bake for approximately 20 more minutes. When the dough has risen completely and is turning light brown on the top, it’s done.
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Remove from the oven and let cool before cutting.
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To serve: swirl a bit of honey into good butter for an extra touch of sweetness, or top with butter and apple butter!
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