Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (270 page)
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
American-style Irish soda bread adds eggs, butter, and sugar along with caraway seeds, raisins, and a multitude of other flavorings to the traditional Irish recipe. Meanwhile, authentic Irish soda bread is less sweet and more simple, often relying on only flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. We wanted to see if we could come up with an appealing loaf that was closer to the traditional version. A loaf made with all-purpose flour produced a doughy, heavy bread with a thick crust. To soften the crumb, we added some cake flour (using just cake flour created a loaf that was too heavy). Our bread was lacking in flavor and still a little tough, so we turned to sugar and butter (very small amounts of both are sometimes added in traditional recipes). Two tablespoons sugar added flavor without making the bread sweet, and 3 tablespoons butter softened the dough without making it overly rich. With its velvety crumb and rough-textured, crunchy crust, this bread is versatile enough to serve with butter and jam for breakfast, for sandwiches at lunch, and alongside the evening meal.
SERVES 8 TO 10
If you do not have a cast-iron skillet, the bread can be baked on a baking sheet, although the crust won’t be quite as crunchy. Soda bread is best eaten on the day it is baked but does keep well covered and stored at room temperature for a couple of days, after which time it will become dry.
3 | cups (15 ounces) all-purpose flour |
1 | cup (4 ounces) cake flour |
2 | tablespoons sugar |
1¹⁄ | teaspoons baking soda |
1¹⁄ | teaspoons cream of tartar |
1¹⁄ | teaspoons salt |
2 | tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, plus 1 tablespoon melted for brushing loaf |
1³⁄ | cups buttermilk |
1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk all-purpose flour, cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt together in large bowl. Add softened butter and use fingers to rub it into flour until completely incorporated. Make well in center of flour mixture and add 1¹⁄
2
cups buttermilk. Work buttermilk into flour mixture using fork until dough comes together in large clumps and there is no dry flour in bottom of bowl, adding up to ¹⁄
4
cup more buttermilk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all loose flour is just moistened. Turn dough onto lightly floured counter and pat together to form 6-inch round; dough will be scrappy and uneven.
2.
Place dough in 12-inch cast-iron skillet. Score deep cross, about 5 inches long and ³⁄
4
inch deep, on top of loaf and place in oven. Bake until nicely browned and knife inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.
This variation is known as brown bread in Ireland. The dough will be sticky and you may need to add a small amount of flour as you mix it.
Reduce all-purpose flour to 1¹⁄
2
cups and cake flour to ¹⁄
2
cup and increase sugar to 3 tablespoons. Add 1¹⁄
2
cups whole wheat flour and ¹⁄
2
cup toasted wheat germ to dry ingredients.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Run-of-the-mill cheese bread is at once dry and greasy, with almost no cheese flavor. We wanted a rich, moist loaf topped with a bold, cheesy crust. We started with all-purpose flour and added whole milk and sour cream for a clean, creamy flavor and rich, moist texture. Just a few tablespoons of butter added enough richness without greasiness, and using less fat made the texture heartier and less cakelike. A single egg gave rise and structure without an overly eggy flavor. As for the cheese, small chunks (rather than shreds) of cheddar mixed into the dough offered rich, cheesy pockets throughout the bread. For added cheesy flavor and a crisp, browned crust, we coated the pan and sprinkled the top of the loaf with shredded Parmesan.
SERVES 10
A mild Asiago, crumbled into ¹⁄
4
- to ¹⁄
2
-inch pieces, can be used instead of the cheddar. Aged Asiago that is as firm as Parmesan is too sharp and piquant. If, when testing the bread for doneness, the toothpick comes out with what looks like uncooked batter clinging to it, try again in a different, but still central, spot; if the toothpick hits a pocket of cheese, it may give a false indication. The texture of the bread improves as it cools, so resist the urge to slice the loaf while it is piping hot. This cheese bread is best made with whole milk, but it will taste fine if you have only 2 percent milk on hand; do not use skim milk. We developed this recipe using a loaf pan that measures 8¹⁄
2
by 4¹⁄
2
inches; if you use a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, start checking for doneness 5 minutes earlier than advised in the recipe.
3 | ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded on large holes of box grater (1 cup) |
2¹⁄ | cups (12¹⁄ |
1 | tablespoon baking powder |
1 | teaspoon salt |
¹⁄ | teaspoon cayenne pepper |
¹⁄ | teaspoon pepper |
4 | ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, cut into ¹⁄ |
1 | cup whole milk |
¹⁄ | cup sour cream |
3 | tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled |
1 | large egg, lightly beaten |
1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8¹⁄
2
by 4¹⁄
2
-inch loaf pan with vegetable oil spray, then sprinkle ¹⁄
2
cup Parmesan evenly in bottom of pan.
2.
In large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cayenne, and pepper to combine. Using rubber spatula, mix in cheddar, breaking up clumps, until cheese is coated with flour. In medium bowl, whisk together milk, sour cream, butter, and egg. Using rubber spatula, gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (batter will be heavy and thick; do not overmix). Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan; spread to sides of pan and level surface with rubber spatula. Sprinkle remaining ¹⁄
2
cup Parmesan evenly over surface.
3.
Bake until loaf is deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes, then invert loaf onto wire rack and turn right side up and continue to let cool until warm, about 45 minutes. Serve. (To freeze, wrap cooled loaf tightly with double layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Bake wrapped loaf until it yields under gentle pressure, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until exterior is crisp, about 5 minutes longer. Let loaf cool on wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.)
Cook 5 slices bacon, cut into ¹⁄
2
-inch pieces, in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towel–lined plate and pour off all but 3 tablespoons fat from skillet. Add ¹⁄
2
cup minced onion to skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 minutes; set skillet with onion aside. Substitute 4 ounces Gruyère, cut into ¹⁄
2
-inch cubes, for cheddar and omit butter. Add bacon and onion to flour mixture with cheese in step 2.
MAKES 12 MUFFINS
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Reduce Parmesan cheese to 2 ounces and cut cheddar into ¹⁄
4
-inch cubes (or crumble mild Asiago into ¹⁄
4
-inch pieces). Spray 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable oil spray, then sprinkle each muffin cup with about 1 teaspoon grated Parmesan cheese, tapping and shaking pan so that cheese evenly coats sides and bottom of each cup. Prepare batter as directed. Using ice cream scoop or large spoon, divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups, dropping batter to form mounds (do not level or flatten batter). Sprinkle remaining Parmesan evenly over surface of batter. Reduce baking time to 20 to 25 minutes, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking. Let muffins cool in tin on wire rack for 5 minutes, then invert muffins onto wire rack, turn right side up, and continue to let cool until warm, about 30 minutes.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Quick breads, like our Beer Batter Cheese Bread, can be on the table in less than an hour. The basic recipe is simple enough, yet our first attempts produced loaves that tasted sour, like stale beer, while others had negligible cheese flavor. And some loaves were so greasy that we had to pass out extra napkins. We wanted a lighter loaf of bread enhanced with the yeasty flavor of beer and a big hit of cheese—and it had to be quick and easy. We found that mild, domestic lagers gave our bread a clean, subtle flavor without any sourness at all. An assertive cheese like Gruyère allowed us to use less, so the bread was less greasy. Cutting back the butter from a full stick, as we found in most recipes, to half a stick made the loaf considerably lighter. And brushing butter on top of the loaf before baking made a super-crisp and flavorful crust.
SERVES 10
Nonalcoholic beer works fine in this recipe. The test kitchen’s preferred loaf pan measures 8¹⁄
2
by 4¹⁄
2
inches; if you use a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, start checking for doneness 5 minutes earlier than advised in the recipe.
2¹⁄ | cups (12¹⁄ |
4 | ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (1 cup) |
3 | tablespoons sugar |
4 | teaspoons baking powder |
1 | teaspoon salt |
¹⁄ | teaspoon pepper |
1¹⁄ | cups light-bodied beer |
5 | tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled |
1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 8¹⁄
2
by 4¹⁄
2
-inch loaf pan.
2.
Stir flour, Gruyère, sugar, baking powder, salt, and pepper together in large bowl. Stir in beer and 4 tablespoons melted butter until just combined (do not overmix).
3.
Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan, smooth top, and brush lightly with remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter. Bake until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating loaf pan halfway through baking.
4.
Let loaf cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and let cool for 1 hour before serving.