Irish chef Darina Allen has created a series of YouTube videos demonstrating how to make various traditional meals.
The County Laois cook is the founder of Ballymaloe Cookery School and is a well-known celebrity chef and author in Ireland.
She teamed up with Irish butter company KerryGold to create the YouTube channel and showcase some simple recipes.
In the following video, Darina demonstrates how to make traditional Irish Soda Bread.
The recipe process begins with a pound of plain white flour being poured into a large mixing bowl. Darina then adds a teaspoon of salt, and a half teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.
The mixture is stirred thoroughly before 14 fluid ounces of buttermilk is poured into the centre.
Darina shares her mixing technique of making her hand into “the shape of a claw” and stirring from the centre of the mixture to the outside in a circular motion.
As she says, it happens so fast, as the mixture quickly solidifies into your Soda Bread dough.
At this point in the process, Darina mentions that you could also make Brown Soda Bread by using a mixture of half wholemeal flour and half white flour.
She also explains that you could add dried fruit, a spoonful of sugar and some carraway seeds to create a sweeter loaf which is what the Americans know as ‘Soda Bread’.
Darina then demonstrates the process of preparing the dough to be baked and warns viewers not to knead it because that will create a “tougher” loaf.
Instead, she advises you just “tidy it up” to mould into an attractive shape ready for the oven.
She also marks a cross into the top of the loaf with her knife, as is the traditional blessing.
Darina then reminds viewers to prick a hole into each corner of the loaf before baking it to “let the faeries out of your bread” otherwise they “jinx your bread”.
She then places her loaf into the pre-heated oven and recommends baking for about 15 minutes at 450°Fahrenheit, and then another 15 minutes at about 400°F.
Once baked, Darina recommends you break the loaf in half, and cut it from the heel to bring “extra good luck”.
She spreads the slices with KerryGold butter and shows the camera a plate of delicious looking Irish Soda Bread.
Darina says that the traditional recipe is quick and easy to cook, and suggests viewers give it a go themselves at home.
Take a look at the video below.
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