Kathy's Bread

Kathy McDermott didn't mess around when it came to the things that she loved. You might remember her for being one of the loudest fans at a Judge Bulldogs game, or one of the funniest, smartest people in the room at a grand party. And here are two bread recipes that she made for the people she loved. Relish that love with every bite.

Kathy's Brown Soda Bread

3 and 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (preferably stoneground)

1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 and 1/2 teaspoons soda

1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon quick cooking or regular oats (not instant!)

About 2 and 1/2 cups buttermilk

Sift flour, salt, and soda together. Stir in oats. Make a well in the center, pour in buttermilk, and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture comes together to form a soft, moist dough. (If it seems too moist, then add flour- if too dry, then add a few more tablespoons of buttermilk.)

Turn out the dough and form into a large disk. Cut a deep X into the disk, cutting the disk almost in quarters. On a buttered cookie sheet bake the bread in the middle of a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 20-25 minutes more until crusty and nicely browned.

Kathy's Brown Bread

3 and 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 and 1/2 packages active dry yeast

2 tablespoons molasses

Sift flour and salt. Combine yeast and molasses in 1/2 cup lukewarm water and let froth for 5-10 minutes.

Pour the yeast mixture and an additional 1 and 1/2 cups lukewarm water into dry ingredients and blend with a wooden spoon to make a sticky dough. Add a little more water if it is too dry.

Turn into a loaf pan. Cover lightly with a tea towel and set aside for 20-30 minutes or until double in size.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 425 degrees and bake an additional 35-40 minutes or until the top is richly browned and sounds hollow.

Farren Brown Bread (Farm Style)

This recipe was modified by Mary Clark for Utah.

The Farren farm is in Malin, Co Donegal. In 1994, the first time we met Eileen Farren (Maureen Clark's sister....Maureen was Pat Clark's mother) she was making brown bread in her farm kitchen with no measuring device visible. Her daughter, Martina, had visited us in 1999. After several calls over seas to each of her sisters we came up with the recipe. When we made the bread, it looked good, smelled good, but was rock hard....so we adapted it for the elevation here in Salt Lake City. It is very dense, heavy bread...nice with cheese or a big slab of butter!!

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups wheat germ

1 cup bran

1 teaspoon heaping soda

1 and 1/2 quarts buttermilk

pinch of salt

1 tsp brown sugar

Mix in a bowl, adding enough buttermilk to mix all the dry ingredients to a "stodgy" dough.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Makes 4 small loaves.

Irish Soda Bread--Shared Tradition of Utah's Irish Women

So we credit four drunk guys with starting the parade, but we all know that it is the Irish women in our lives that keep our culture and traditions alive.

My mother, Mary Clark (pictured bottom right), has made this bread at St. Patrick's Day for as long as I can remember. When I asked her for the recipe, she was insistent that it wasn't "her" recipe but that she had received it from Vicki Canoso (bottom left) who got it from Jerrie Ivory (top right). She reached out to Jerrie's kids, who informed her that Jerrie got the recipe from Mary (Mickey) Rita O'Lee Aloia (top left). Sam Aloia, Mickie's son, and James Cordova, her grandson, both coached me in football at Judge Memorial. Oh how small the world really is. So as you enjoy the flavor, also relish in the story....for surely it all started somewhere on the Emerald Isle.

4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 heaping tsp baking soda

Mix dry ingredients together and sift.

1 and 1/2 squares butter-softened

1 cup currants

1 and 1/3 cup buttermilk-slowly add to mixture. You might use a little less or a little more.

Put dough on a floured board and knead it for 2:30 or 3 minutes.

Divide in half, make a ball or cimble so it is rounded and flatten out a bit.

Put both halves on a cookie sheet and kind of indent with knife across to make a cross.

Beat an egg white until stiff and brush on bread.

Bake at 340 degrees for 45-55 min or longer until not soft in the center.

Enjoy. And pass it on.