Julia offered to be on dinner duty one night last week when she was off work and I happily took her up on the offer. As is our system, I supplied the recipes and she prepared them...quite perfectly I must say! This irish soda bread was the perfect addition to our soup which will be posted later this week.

I'd never had irish soda bread before but put it on our weekly menu because 1. We had leftover buttermilk sitting in the fridge, 2. I love homemade bread...and yeastless bread is even better (easier!), and 3. I felt it was necessary given the upcoming holiday (that happens to be today!).

We all LOVED this bread. It was thick and doughy and reminiscent of pancakes, due to the buttermilk. Seriously as it was baking, I commented that our house smelled like pancakes! The three of us nearly finished the loaf in one sitting and all decided it would be awesome at breakfast with some butter and jelly. I can't wait to make it again; thanks Julia for this yummy introduction!

-2 1/2 cups flour

-1 tsp salt

-1 1/8 tsp baking soda

-1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a baking sheet.

2. Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl and whisk together with a fork.

3. Stir in half the buttermilk, then add the remaining buttermilk 2 tbsp at a time. (The dough should be a little bit moist and hold together, but not be sticky. If you add too much milk, knead in some flour until the dough is no longer sticky)

4. Shape dough into a ball and cut an X into the top.

5. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, until golden brown (if you tap the bottom of the loaf with your knuckles, it should sound hollow).

6. Let cool, but eat within 3 hrs of baking!