Miss Peggy Daum’s Treacle Bread
Treacle Bread is a slightly sweet Irish Soda Bread. A thin slice of this bread buttered or jammed and a cup of black tea in the afternoon is one of the finer pleasures in life. This bread toasts nicely, so do not abandon the loaf when it gets a bit hard. I made this. Not difficult and worth the work.
Miss Peggy Daum’s Treacle Bread
3 cups sifted all-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon granulated Sugar
1 scant teaspoon Baking Soda
3/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Molasses
1 cup Buttermilk, divided
Sift all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder into a large bowl. Thoroughly mix in whole wheat flour. Warm the molasses a bit and combine it with 1/2 the buttermilk. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and stir in the buttermilk mixture. You want a soft dough. So add the other bit of buttermilk as needed. Make your own buttermilk: add 1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup milk.
Turn out on a floured board. Knead only enough to shape into a ball. You do not want to develop gluten. Flatten the ball of dough into a circle 1 1/2 inches thick. Place into a greased and floured 8–9 inch baking pan. The dough does not have to fill the pan. Cut a cross 3/8 inch thick across the top and down the sides of the loaf.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake bread for 40 to 45 minutes or until the bread is browned and the loaf sounds hollow when you knock on it. Best sliced thin and lightly buttered, toasted or untoasted.
