I’m thinking of re-naming my blog: The Ill-equipped Kitchen, as a spice grinder I do not have, among other things. However, I did have an empty supermarket salt grinder, which I was able to use to grind up the allspice.
I have never ordered a pumpkin spice whatnot from a coffee chain, but I was craving a seasonal fix of spicy carbohydrates and thought a pumpkin spice soda bread would hit the spot. Soda bread is one of the easiest breads to make, which is why I make it all the time! It’s easy to add extra ingredients depending on the seasons or your craving. Or just say feck it and keep it simple – you’ll still turn out a wonderful loaf.
Pumpkin spice was not invented by a coffee chain. (I think. Right? Surely they didn’t…). You can make a batch of your own pumpkin spice to have on hand at home for adding to whatever you might be whipping up, whether a beverage or some baking.
I followed the recipe at Old Farmer’s Almanac and love the results:
⅓ cup ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg or mace
1-½ teaspoons ground cloves
1-½ teaspoons ground allspice (Piment in the German supermarket!)
Keep a batch of pumpkin spice in your kitchen, give a jar of away as a gift. It’s a lovely warming thing to have on hand during Autumn and Winter.
For soda bread, the recipe I follow is:
500g plain flour
500 ml buttermilk (let it sit to get to room temperature)
1 teaspoon baking soda (Natron in the German supermarket!)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
If adding pumpkin spice: add 1 1/2 teaspoons to the dry mixture and mix in well
- Add dry ingredients to a large bowl and make a well in the centre
- Slowly add the buttermilk to the well, gently working in the flour with a fork until it looks ‘scraggy’. Don’t overwork the dough too much
- Once all your buttermilk is in, flour your hands and work surface, turn out the dough and bring it together to create a round loaf. Again don’t over work it, just enough to bring it together
- Flour your baking tray, transfer your soda bread to the tray
- Wet a sharp knife and cut a deep cross in the dough – this allows the heat to get right in there during baking, to ensure you get a nice rise on your soda bread. Very important!
- Bake at 200 C for 45 mins or until golden brown. If using the pumpkin spices, your dough will already have a light brown colour, so it may be hard to tell when it’s actually done. Watch it so it doesn’t burn (not likely); use a fork to test the inner dough of the loaf, if it comes out clean, your pumpkin spice soda bread is ready to be demolished
- Try and let it cool for 10 minutes (it will be easier to slice, but damn it’s hard to wait)
- Slather with butter, honey or cream cheese.
BERLIN BELLY 