Nana O’Reilly’s Griddle Soda Bread.

Nana O’Reilly’s Griddle Soda Bread

Nana O’Reilly’s Griddle Soda Bread is a memory I’ve savored since I was a kid. A simple recipe with just five ingredients, it’s made in a jiffy.

With the passing of my mother last year and the writing of my cookbook with stories of childhood and home cooked food, my roots are calling me. Recollections stir of Nana and my grandfather whom we called “father,” sitting at the long table in the old attic kitchen in the heart of the city of Dublin.

With many great stories to be read and recipes to make, this summer will be spent cooking and baking and photographing all the recipes in the cookbook.

I had a few days of sadness last week and took some quiet time away from technology and allowed my tears to flow.

When I woke up this morning, fresh as rain, I dragged Bill out of bed and we cycled to Ernest Coffee on Palm Canyon. I sipped a creamy cappuccino with just the right amount of froth and chatted with the usual suspects (coffee buddies). On the way back, I decided to honor my grandmother and mother and bake my grandmother’s griddle bread.

I made two versions – one baked in the oven and the other on the stove top in a Griswold pan. Nana O’ Reilly’s Griddle Soda Bread is comfort food. Bill is standing in the kitchen as I write with a look of rapture on his face. His thick cuts of bread are smothered in rich creamy Irish butter (Kerrygold) that we bought in Trader Joe’s and a heaping spoonful of Bill’s homemade raspberry jam. 

Sometimes Nana would throw a handful of raisin into the dough.

All the ingredients I use are organic 

Nana’s griddle bread

• 3 1/2 cups of all – purpose flour 
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• buttermilk to mix – about 2 cups

 

1. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a big bowl
2. make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk, mixing in the flour from the sides.
3. turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly for a few minutes.
4. roll out the dough to about 1 inch thick and cut into four “farls” (wedges).
5. on a pre heated dry griddle with a light dusting of flour ( I use a Griswold cast iron pan) place the wedges on a low to medium heat and cook for about 10 minutes per side.
6. Then stand the pieces up and brown the other sides for a few minutes. It ought to have a nice crust on the outside and be soft inside.

Delicious with gobs of butter and preserves and or savory with eggs and bacon. Great toasted the next day.

Nana O’Reilly’s Griddle Soda Bread

Baking guide for the oven: Preheat oven to 450º, make the dough as above but leave the dough whole and place on baking sheet, then cut a deep cross into the bread and pop into the oven for 15 minutes then turn down the heat to 400º and bake for another 15 or 20 minutes. Turn the bread upside down and cook for a further 10-15 mins until cooked on the bottom. The loaf should sound hollow when you tap it.

Cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy.