Happy St. Patrick’s Day! A time when the majority of people become Irish for the day.  I always get inspired by holidays celebrated by different cultures.  The food always excites me and I usually can’t wait to try making them for myself.  So really, what I’m trying to say is I love to cook anything from a recipe for any cuisine. A lot of times, the recipe from one cuisine can be found slightly modified in another cuisine – each claiming to have made it first. Lots of examples of this can be found in flatbreads as an example. But life is too short to worry about firsts, so I’m making an Irish’ish Bacon Soda Bread recipe! I’m sure it’s been done before but I just thought of it so really – bacon and anything = world peace!! I say Irish’ish because I don’t want to insult any purists out there.  This is just my contribution to fusion cooking/baking on St. Patrick’s Day!

Back in 2013, when I first became a Chef I entered a Gourmet Grilled Cheese competition. One of the sponsors was Chatelaine Magazine (my mum’s favorite magazine, how could I not enter it). When it came time to the tasting portion, the three finalists stood in front of the audience and after tasting my sandwich, the judge proclaimed “You cheated”. Horrified I wasn’t sure what he meant, but he quickly smiled and said “You added bacon to it, how could you not win!” (See the link with recipe here https://foodinspires.com/2013/04/07/and-the-winner-of-the-gourmet-grilled-cheese-sandwich-is/). It worked once and it will work every time!

I’ve always loved bacon from sweet to savory applications – capital YUM! If I can add it to something I will. Leave it out if you are opposed to it, but bacon just elevates this bread. The key is to fry thick cut bacon until cooked but not dry, remember it will cook more in the oven. The best part about bacon is the extract (you know, it’s what we call it instead of the “f – – “ word (fat)). Save it and use it to bake flavorful potatoes/root veggies, heat it up and use it in a salad dressing, add it to rolls before baking – oh my, limitless possibilities! So don’t throw out that bacon extract!

With or without bacon, this is a great tasting recipe and will give you two 8″ or 9″ round loaves! There is very little kneading the dough, no mixer required and no proofing/rising time.  Make this and celebrate with a Guinness, some Irish Whisky, or Irish coffee (do you really need more examples of why we all become Irish for the day?!) And remember that Irish saying that is so fitting for this blog – “What butter and whisky won’t cure, there is no cure for!” Stay safe, stay well! As always – enjoy!

Ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 slices thick cut bacon, cut into ½” pieces – cooked but not crisped
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup currants, added to the bacon extract just as the bacon is removed and the burner is off – I used 1/2 cup each of currants and dried cranberries
2 ¼ cups buttermilk – start with 2 then add more by tablespoons if/as required

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350f and lightly oil a baking sheet
2. Cook 4 slices of thick cut bacon, until cooked but not crisped – reserve the extract in the pan
3. Remove bacon to paper towels and set aside – turn off the burner
4. Immediately add the currants and sauté off heat until plumped (1+/- minute) – remove/drain on paper towels – reserve the bacon extract for other uses
5. In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda
6. Add the bacon pieces and currants and stir well to combine
7. Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the buttermilk and mix
8. Mix until a dough forms (add additional buttermilk if needed – 1 tbsp at a time) to form the dough
9. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead for 1 minute
10. Form a large disc out of the dough, cut in half with a knife or pastry cutter and form each into a disc
11. Using a very sharp knife, cut a 1/4-inch deep square or X into each disc of dough (I did one of each for the Instagram shot, the “X” came out nicer in the photograph – both were incredibly delicious)
12. Place both discs of dough on the lightly-oiled baking sheet – spread apart as they will rise while baking
13. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and bread tests clean when poked with a knife
14. Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool before slicing (or not)
Freeze one loaf for later devourment (it must be a word, I just used it in a sentence)

Well Why Not! (Tips and Suggestions)
Buttermilk is a large component of this dish so please use the real thing, don’t substitute with the homemade variety – you need the tang to come through
Make sure you keep the bacon extract in the fridge for other uses
Add more bacon, I won’t tell
Instead of olive oil, spread some bacon extract onto the baking trays before placing the loaves on them to bake
Brush some extract on top of the loaf before baking
Substitute raisins for currants or dried cranberries (I’m just a big currant fan)
Serve this with an Irish stew using lamb or beef
Enjoy toasted with butter (the real stuff) and marmalade
Sprinkle some oatmeal, nuts and/or seeds on top of the loaf before baking