As the lovely little pandemic gained a strong foothold last year, yeast vanished. And not only is yeast now back on the shelves, from what I've seen lately the one-pound packages are now also cheaper than they were last year (at least at the Grocery Outlet stores). However, if sourcing yeast becomes problematic again, it's good to have other options.
When we think of quick breads, normally what comes to mind is a sweet bread like banana or pumpkin bread. There are also cornbread and biscuits. And finally, there is something called Irish soda bread that uses buttermilk and baking soda for the leavening. Irish soda bread is a solid loaf that would work well as an accompaniment for soup or chili. It's a bit dense to work as sandwich bread.
Irish Soda Bread
1 1/2-2 cups buttermilk (2 cups water, 1/2 cup powdered milk, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, combine and let sit 10 minutes)
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Mix the buttermilk substitute--water, milk, and lemon juice and set it aside.
Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a depression in the center of the mixture and pour in most of the buttermilk mixture when it is ready. (Reserve 1/4-1/2 cup to use as needed.) Use your fingers to combine the ingredients into a dough, adding more buttermilk, if necessary. Do not knead the dough. It should be soft, but not too wet or sticky.
When the dough has formed a ball, remove it from the bowl to a floured work surface. Continue to fold it over until it forms a better ball and pat it down into a circle about 1 1/2 inches thick. Place it on a greased baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Cut a deep X in the top.
Bake at 400°F for 35-40 minutes. When fully baked, the bread will reach an internal temperature of 190°F. If you don't have a thermometer, the golden-brown loaf will sound slightly hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Cool on a wire rack until ready to serve.
Reviews: #1 son thought it was just fine. He basically eats anything that isn't moving. I didn't really care for it. It's dense and kinda blah, but it would be ok if I had no yeast. I'd much rather have cornbread or biscuits. Lydia thought it was good. QOTPE said it was really dense but acceptable.
Links to related posts:
Culinary Uses for Spoiled Milk
Who is QOTPE?
ReplyDeleteQOTPE--Queen of the Picky Eaters--is my daughter Charlotte.
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