KitchenAid and Irish Soda Bread
I got a KitchenAid stand mixer a few months ago through one of those Amazon Friday Sales for a bit more than 1/3 off their list price. It’s a nice machine, and, while, yes, people have had stand mixer and baking experience handed down over generations, making things using the KitchenAid is a relatively new thing for me. So far, I’ve used the dough hook and paddle attachments, but not the wire wisk (haven’t yet had to do anything involving whipped cream, egg foams, etc.). This Irish Soda Bread I made last night didn’t really benefit much from the stand mixer (it’s just a quick bread and doesn’t require strong forearms to work the dough), but the Kitchen Aid did speed things up. Where the stand mixer has excelled is with the tasks and techniques that I found a major pain in the ass and discouraged me from making baked goods by hand. These would be creaming butter and kneeding stiff dough. So far, things that have really benefited from the KitchenAid have been fresh pasta, potato gnocchi, apple crisp, pie crusts, buttercream frosting and yeast bread. I’ll post recipes on what I did with these later, when I make them again, but I wanted to get the soda bread recipe down someplace without resorting to Google or A9.
This is based on this recipe from AllRecipes.com:
INGREDIENTS:
* 4 cups all-purpose flour
* 4 tablespoons white sugar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup butter, softened
* 1 cup plain yogurt
* 1 egg
* 2 tablespoons butter, melted
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
2. In mixer bowl, mix together wet team (sugar, softened butter, egg, yogurt).
3. In separate bowl, mix dry team (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt). Stir dry team into wet team in batches, mix until a smooth dough forms. You may need to add more flour. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on prepared baking sheet. Brush with melted butter.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 30 to 50 minutes. You may continue to brush the loaf with the butter while it bakes.