I have a great fondness for bread. Bread of all kinds. I don't care how much food is laid out before me, I can not help but be disappointed when I don't see any bread. Yeast breads are wonderful, but lets face it they are time consuming. There is a wide world of quick breads out there to explore. It is just a matter of finding the one that works for you. I found an old two book set on bread and pasta at a flee market. In it I found a recipe for Irish Soda Bread. What I loved about the recipe was its simplicity. I could turn out a nice loaf start to finish in about 1 hour. After a few modifications I had a base that could adapt to a number of variations. I agree with most of the comments that baking is a very precise processes, but I have found that some variables do apply. The quantity of buttermilk depends on the flour. Things like the storage and age of the flour can all affect the amount of buttermilk in this recipe. So where the quantity of buttermilk is listed you will see a range of amount.

What I have listed here is my base recipe, but be adventurous. So here is Breaking "Irish" Bread with Christopher.

1cup Whole Wheat flour

3cups All Purpose Unbleached flour

1teaspoon Baking Powder

1tablespoon Salt

Mix together in a large bowl

In a separate bowl dissolve the baking soda in the buttermilk and then add the oil

2-2 1/2cups Buttermilk

1teaspoon Baking Soda

1/4cup canola oil

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix just enough to combine. Turn out onto a floured surface and kneed the bread into a 9" round shape. Slide the loaf onto a lightly oiled baking sheet. Then score the top with a very sharp knife. Bake in a hot oven at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.