Irish Soda Bread

 This is another recipe from the bread book I bought the other day.  I've never tried Irish soda bread before, so I really have no reference as to whether or not the flavor and density were on.  That being said, I did really like it.  I have a soft spot in my heart for crusty breads, and this definitely fit the bill.  This is also the first non-yeast bread I've made and I was impressed how well it rose.


The one issue I had in making it was the stickiness of the dough.  After I added all the required flour it was still unmanageably sticky.  I didn't want to add flour because the directions warned against making dough that was too stiff.  I ended up using a generous amount of flour on my hands when I rolled the dough into balls and that seemed to work alright, but I didn't really get to knead it because it was sticking to everything and any flour on the counter just got worked into the bread right away anyway.  I looked up a video online and the the dough didn't look nearly so sticky so I'm not sure if it was my particular recipe; it's possible it was just really humid that day.  We have had dew points in the70s-80s lately and I know it's really impacted the stiffness of my icing.

-Beth