Chilly afternoons in mid March call for baking, and because it’s almost St. Patrick’s Day Irish Soda bread sounds about right. But rolls sounds like a better way to share, and cranberries are just the kind of tart sweetness I’m craving. The simplicity of this dough makes me question why I haven’t made this bread more often, since it requires no resting time, and bakes up quickly. The dough resembles a rough biscuit dough, but when I brought out my pastry blender it reminded me more of making pie dough. Oh, I want pie, I can’t wait for this summer pie. Oh, and I love curd, but since I only had marmalade on hand, I found it was necessary to add a dollop of this fruity sweetness to a warm crumbly roll. These Irish soda bread rolls would work well with a St. Patrick’s Day Whiskey Tasting atop each guest’s place setting.
Ingredients {Makes 18 rolls}
4 cups – All Purpose flour
1/4 cup – Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon – Salt
2 teaspoons – Baking Powder
2 tablespoons – Sesame Seeds
4 tablespoons – Unsalted Butter {cold and cubed}
2 cups – Cranberries
1 1/2 cups – Buttermilk
1 large – Egg {plus 1 yolk}
1 teaspoon – Baking Soda
1 tablespoon – Heavy Cream
Recipe {Adapted from Martha Stewart}
Pre-eat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and sesame seeds in a large bowl until combined. Cut in butter with a pastry cutter, until the mixture appears like coarse meal, then stir in cranberries.
In a small bowl, whisk the buttermilk, whole egg, and baking soda until well combined. Pour the buttermilk into the flour mixture, and stir with a rubber spatula, until the liquid is absorbed and begins to hold together {slightly like rough biscuit dough}. Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 16 equal pieces. With floured hands, roll each into a ball and place on the baking sheet in 3 rows of 6, making sure each roll is touching the surrounding ones.
In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk and cream together and the rolls. With the tip of a paring knife, cut a 1/4-inch-deep X on the of each. Transfer to oven, and bake, rotating halfway through, until golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted into center {40 minutes}. Remove from oven, transfering the baking sheet to a wire rack, and separate each roll . Cool to room temperature before serving with plenty of salted Irish butter or marmalade.