I have a sweet tooth. I am one of those guys who almost never has just one cookie…unless it’s a black and white from a diner which, let’s face it, is really a small cake.
Today, Beth and I made our first loaf of Irish Soda Bread. I decided to try this because I have enjoyed soda bread from our local ShopRite for years. The stuff at ShopRite is like a cross between a good loaf of bread and a cookie. It’s quite sweet and rarely lasts more than 3 hours in our house.
Looking online for a recipe, I found one that only calls for one tablespoon of sugar.
“That’s not going to taste like the ones at the store,” warned Beth, our in-house baking consultant.
I proceeded anyway. Our only substitution was using ghee instead of butter. That’s okay. We both like the flavor and texture of ghee and it’s one of the ways I make a great baked chicken.
45 minutes later we had our own crusty loaf of bread twice the size of the ShopRite kind.
So, how was it? Beth was right. It was decidedly less sweet, but our conclusion was that it was, therefore, healthier and less addictive. I’m not sure what we spent on the ingredients (buttermilk ain’t cheap) but it was very satisfying to work together and create something new.
“How Sweet it Is” in addition to being a great song is also our unofficial tune. Today, we saw that what’s sweetest of all isn’t a store-bought treat, but something we made by hand.
