Mrs. O'Callaghan's Soda Bread

Bon Appetit's piece, "A Slice of Ireland" really lured me in this month with its luxurious spread on the Irish countryside and the enticing food found there.

Bon Appetit/Mrs. O'Callaghan's version**:

**Updated: Just realized that this photograph is actually NOT Mrs. O'Callaghan's version, but brown bread from Avoca in Dublin. Oooops. Sorry. (This explains a lot.)

our version:

I loved the first picture of the thick, grainy soda bread, which spanned two pages and then the one of Mrs. O'Callaghan herself.

She totally reminds me of my grandma--also Irish, also doesn't read this blog.

(above two photos by Andrew Hetherington)

When it came down to us making soda bread, we tried to keep things similarly dreamy.

This bread was super simple--no yeast or rising-time necessary. But since we had whole wheat pastry flour on hand, we used that instead of regular whole wheat flour, and we think that made the difference when it came to the appearance of ours vs. Mrs. O'Callaghan's--O'Callaghan's appearing decidedly more rustic.

Oh and speaking of Mrs. O'Callaghan and in the spirit of old-school Bon Appetempt...

Ingredients
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
3 cups all purpose flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled margarine or butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 cups buttermilk

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray heavy baking sheet with nonstick spray. Whisk both flours, sugar, and baking soda in medium bowl to blend. Add margarine and cut in until margarine is reduced to pea-size pieces. Add buttermilk; stir until shaggy dough forms. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until dough comes together, about 10 turns. Shape dough into 7-inch round. Place dough on prepared baking sheet. Cut large X, 1/2 inch deep, in top of dough.

Bake bread until deep brown and bottom sounds hollow when firmly tapped, about 40 minutes. Transfer bread to rack and cool completely.