The Blog

St. Patrick’s Day will soon be upon us – and though you might be hard pressed to spot a four-leaf clover or a pot of gold, you can easily find our newly released Shenanigans Summer Ale, no rainbow required. To celebrate this St. Paddy’s, we’ve put together a recipe for Irish soda bread featuring our warm weather brew. Shenanigans has notes of honey and wheat, making it a perfect addition to this traditional quick bread. Shenanigans Soda Bread can be thrown together in a snap, and will keep your belly full, whether you’re partying until the top of the morning, or just until the top of the hour. Ready to get up to some shenanigans?

Ingredients:

• All-purpose flour, 4 cups
• Caraway seeds, ½ tablespoon (more or less to taste)
• White sugar, ½ cup
• Eggs, 2
• Salt, ¾ teaspoon
• Buttermilk, ¾ cup
• Baking powder, 2 teaspoons
• Sour cream, ½ cup
• Baking soda, 1 teaspoon
• Shenanigans Summer Ale, 1 cup
• Raisins, 1 cup
• Vegetable Shortening (to grease pan)

To make this recipe, you’ll need two large bowls, an eight or nine-inch cake pan, a whisk, a large mixing spoon, and about 15-20 minutes of prep time plus 65 minutes to cook the bread. Take your eggs, sour cream and buttermilk out of the fridge beforehand, and let them sit until they are room temperature. Grease the cake pan. Preheat your oven to 350°F.

First, add all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. This includes the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and powder, raisins and caraway seeds. Caraway seeds are what give rye bread its unique flavor – so if you are not a fan of rye, feel free to add less or omit this ingredient entirely. Give those dry ingredients a stir, and set that bowl aside.

In the second bowl, crack two eggs and beat them lightly. Then, pour in buttermilk, sour cream and Shenanigans. Whisk this mixture together until it is combined. Pour this mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir until everything is moistened. The dough will be fairly sticky, this is the consistency you want. Without taking the dough from the bowl, knead it a few times. Transfer the dough from the bowl to the greased cake pan. Dust the top of the dough with flour, then score a large cross into the top of the bread. Pop the bread in the oven for 65 minutes. Once you take it out, you can make sure it’s cooked through by inserting a knife or wooden skewer in the middle – this should come out clean. You can also thump the bread lightly with your fist – if it makes a hollow sound, it’s ready!

Let the bread sit in the pan for five minutes, then cool it completely for several hours, or overnight on a wire rack before cutting into it. Serve with butter, jam and a can of Shenanigans. Sláinte!

Mix, knead, bake, post! Share your Shenanigans Soda Bread with us on social media by using #HungryCreatures and tagging @indeedbrewing.