Happy St.Patrick's Day

I have an Irish mother - I mean off the boat Irish. She came to Canada as a young woman, on her own, when she was about 25 years old. She met my father, a true Montrealer of Polish decent, soon after. What a combination. My mother travels back home less frequently than she did when she was younger, but certain things are always packed in her suitcase on the return flight back to Canada. Irish chocolate and Irish soda bread. No matter how much I have tried, I cannot recreate that Irish bread. The reason is the flour. My mother adamantly refuses to lug back flour so I can make bread. I have created a recipe that makes a soda bread, all be it tasty, it's not the real thing. It is not bread to eat warm from the oven. It really is best the day after, toasted, with butter and jam. It's great because it's very fast. In honour of St. Patrick's Day and my Irish mother..here it is.

Irish Soda Bread

2 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk - as a dairy farmer- with my own milk- I use whole milk, soured. Do this by adding 3 tablespoons of vinegar to your measuring cup before adding the milk. Add milk to measure 1 1/2 cups, stir and let stand 5 - 10 minutes until it thickens.

Preheat the oven to 425F - make sure rack is in the center. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle lightly with flour.

Mix all dry ingredients together. Mixing as you go, stir in enough buttermilk to form moist clumps. Gather dough into a ball. Turnout onto lightly floured surface and knead just until the dough holds together, about 1 minute. If the dough is too sticky, knead in some flour. The texture should be rather dry and dense. Shape dough into a disc about 6 inches in diameter. Place onto prepared baking sheet. Cut an "X" across the top. This cut should be about 1 inch deep. Bake until bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when you tap the bottom, about 35 minutes. Transfer bread to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.