Irish Soda Bread (aka Irish Crack)

Despite my claims of being pathologically opposed to making bread I am now starting to wonder since the 2 recipes I have made from the Baking with Julia series have both been bread. However unlike the first recipe this recipe for Irish Soda bread did not require a mixer, yeast or a warm place to proof the bread. And it turns out that I like my bread like I like my men....easy ;-)

And easy it was. All I had to do was dump 4 ingredients into a bowl and quickly mix it. Since I had a ton of dried fruit leftover from having bought all the ingredients to make the last recipe (rugelach) but never actually getting around to making it (death in the family, starting crazy new life career, yada yada) I decided to throw in a cup of chopped dates.

 After mixing it you then knead it for one minute. The recipes states that at this point the dough will be "soft and malleable" and warns you that as "tantalizing as it is, it should not be overworked". Tantalizing? I am not sure that I consider soft, sticky dough encrusting my hands tantalizing. But to each his own I guess.

After you knead it for a minute you then form it into a 6 inch disk, and yes that is a tape measure you see because when a book calls for a 6 inch disk but God I am making a 6.inch.disk.  I am nothing if not precise.

 You then plop the 6 inch loaf of sticky goodness into a pie plate and bake.

 50 minutes later you have Irish Soda Bread. I could not even wait for it to completely cool before I smeared a piece with butter and gobbled it down (which is why I now will call homemade Irish Soda bread Irish Crack).

And now the small print stuff: Baking with Julia, page 214, hosted by Cathy of My Culinary Mission and Carla of Chocolate Moosey