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JSchaaf
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| Posted: March 17 2006 at 4:05pm | IP Logged
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My PLEASE!! didn't fit in the subject line!
I found a recipe atTales from the Bonny Blue House and have some questions (kids and ingredients are all downstairs, ready to bake..)
Do I really need to sift the dry ingredients together? I don't own a sifter. Do I shape it into a loaf or a ball. Do I bake in a loaf pan or in a baking pan or on a cookie sheet?
Thanks in advance!
Jennifer
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kingvozzo
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| Posted: March 17 2006 at 4:16pm | IP Logged
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Since you haven't had any other answers, I'll try, since Irish Soda bread is one of the only things I make...and I'm off to make some myself.
If you don't have a sifter, try pushing everything through a strainer with a fork. It's pretty important to mix the ingredients well. I always use self-rising flour, because it's easier....again, I'm a lazy cook. 
If you don't have a strainer either, you can use a fork to mix everything, but be very patient so you mmis it really well.
Shape it, into a ball and flatten it slightly---it will rise. You want it to be roughly about hamburger shaped.
You can put it either on a cookie sheet or a baking pan. What I've been using of late is my round baking stone.
We always cut a shallow cross across the top, which opens up beautifully when it's baked.
I hope this is helpful!
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Noreen
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mary
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| Posted: March 17 2006 at 4:18pm | IP Logged
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I made danielle bean's recipe yesterday. i did not sift, nor did i shape. i just plopped it onto a cookie sheet and baked. it was yummy!
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JennGM
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| Posted: March 17 2006 at 4:18pm | IP Logged
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According to this entry scones don't need a lot of sifting. But perhaps you have a strainer or sieve, that looks a little like this?
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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JSchaaf
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| Posted: March 17 2006 at 4:24pm | IP Logged
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Thank you! I am baking-impaired, and have a compulsive need to follow a recipe exactly as written. So we'll either run out and buy a sifter (not really a great idea!) or find a recipe that doesn't call for sifting! Oh, and isn't it pathetic that I don't have any domestic women in my family or IRL friends to call and ask? Once the bread is in the oven I think I'll cry. It's PMS time and this seems a good thing to cry about.
Jennifer
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JennGM
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| Posted: March 17 2006 at 4:26pm | IP Logged
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Big  Jennifer...that's why the boards are so helpful for us! Give yourself some time. Perhaps a nice cup of Irish coffee tonight?  That's my favorite!
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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JSchaaf
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| Posted: March 17 2006 at 5:13pm | IP Logged
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Nick is stopping for the Bailey's on the way home...I ended up using the recipe I had and shaking the ingredients through a strainer (thanks, Noreen!). The bread's in the oven now, I'll be sure to post an update. I'm sure you will all be waiting with bated breath for the results!
Jennifer
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Mary G
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| Posted: March 17 2006 at 5:42pm | IP Logged
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Jennifer,
Here's for next time:
Sifting was more necessary in old recipes when flour clumped due to the processing. Now, you have "pre-sifted" flour so it's not as critical to sift it. You sift the dry ingredients to keep them from clumping and to mix them well. You could do the same with a fork or a pastry cutter -- lifting as you stir to keep the flour and dry ingredients "airy" (like that's a concrete term!)
When making Irish Soda Bread (which really should be called raisin bread!), you form the stiff dough into a round loaf on a cookie sheet -- you want as much surface area as possible to be exposed so it gets crunchy. Brush the dough with a beaten egg yolk (you can add a bit of milk) and brush the bread surface -- you can also pour it slowly on top of the bread and spread it with a knife if you don't have a pastry brush.
Before slipping in the oven -- make a cross across the top of the bread with a sharp knife -- the "gash" should be about 1/2 inch deep.
There you go -- Irish Soda bread like the pros make it! 
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MaryG
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Sarah
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| Posted: March 17 2006 at 8:39pm | IP Logged
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I never sift.
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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Topic: Urgent!! Irish Soda Bread help needed!!
