Happy St. Patty's Day

Nothing says the 17th of March more than good, ole-fashioned soda bread! And do I have a recipe for you. You will need a bread machine - if you don't have one, you need one. There is nothing more comforting than homemade bread. 

Wet ingredients - they go in first:

1 cup of buttermilk

1 large egg

2 tbsp molasses

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp melted butter

Now, put in the dry ingredients:

2 cup bread flour

1 cup wheat flour

2 tbsp cornmeal

1-1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1-3/4 tsp yeast (best if bread machine-type)

Optional:

3/4 cup raisins, craisins, or currants

Choose the dough setting and let it go.

When it is done, allow it to sit and rise to fill the machine (about an hour or so).

Take out the dough, punch it down and form into a ball.

Place on a baking stone (I used parchment paper, and it worked great!); cover with a towel and let rise for another hour.

Preheat oven to 375* - slash an X on top of the risen loaf and place in oven for 15 minutes. When the timer sounds, reduce the heat to 350* and bake another 15 minutes.

Remove and let cool on a rack.

Cut, smear with butter, and bask in the homemade bread feeling!