THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE.....

WRITTEN ON AN OLD OVEN MITT?

by Shelley Kary

When my good friend (and superb hostess!), Theresa, had the girls over for dinner, much oohing and aahing occurred over a particularly tasty fresh bread she served. We were, of course, doubly impressed when Theresa revealed she had baked it herself. I mean, who does that anymore?! When I asked her to please share the recipe she happily obliged. BY PRODUCING THIS OVEN MITT! As you can see, this mitt is mature and much loved (a fate we can all only hope to achieve), which only makes me more grateful to Theresa for sharing (both the bread and the recipe). I feel I’ve been let in on a glimpse of her Irish family history and in so doing, managed to glean a little “insider information”. 

I’ll take it. And then I’ll bake it. I’m hoping you will too. The mitt stops here. 

Theresa’s Oven Mitt Real Irish Soda Bread

(It has since been revealed to me that Theresa substituted her own variations to the original recipe. Since this is the deliciousness I experienced, the modified version appears below.) 

2 cups wholewheat flour

1 cup wheat bran

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup ground flax seed

3 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet or cover it with parchment paper. In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the egg a bit and mix into the olive oil and the buttermilk.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and stir gently with a wooden spoon. Lightly knead with your hands. Don’t overdo this part! 

Form dough into a round and place on a baking sheet. (Theresa likes to cut a cross on the top, just because!)

Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes. Enjoy!