Loading…
10
My grandma's old notebook had a recipe for 'soda bread' that was just flour, baking soda, and buttermilk.
I mean, I found it in her kitchen drawer last month and it looked too simple to be good. I tried it anyway, and it came out super dense and dry the first two times. The trick was using a full cup of buttermilk and not mixing it for more than 30 seconds, just like her note said. Has anyone else had a family recipe that seemed wrong but worked with one specific step?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
colemartinez5mo ago
Yeah, that's the classic soda bread struggle. Overmixing develops the gluten and turns it into a brick. The buttermilk amount is key too, since the acidity reacts with the soda. My mom's version falls apart if you even look at it for more than a minute before baking.
9
price.tyler5mo ago
Oh man, that hits close to home. My first try at my dad's biscuit recipe was basically a hockey puck because I worked the dough like I was mad at it. Turns out his "gentle pats" instruction was NOT a suggestion. Some of these old recipes are like a secret handshake, you gotta follow the weird rule exactly or it just does not work.
2