Did you know it’s really good? I tried making saffron soda bread and I liked it a lot!
And once again, I have to thank the Light and Tasty Team for “forcing” me to experiment! 😄
The ingredient to use for today’s recipe is saffron. A somewhat tricky ingredient for me, since I’m not used to using it.
But I love experimenting in the kitchen.
Sure, sometimes it would be easier to search for information and know what you don’t know before cooking recklessly! haha! But there are priceless days for me when doing things my own way gives me great satisfaction!
These are the days when I go into the kitchen, head down, and churn out two-three-four recipes, or two-three-four variations of the same recipe, as happened back in the days of the yogurt scones, remember? Oh how much I enjoyed making variant after variant!
This time, it went more or less the same way. But the reason was different: the first bread didn’t turn out as yellow as I expected, but just a pale yellow. Then I made another bread using twice the saffron, but with the same almost colorless result (oh no! and now?). But while kneading this second bread mmmm… the little gray cells of a less-than-proven but very self-taught cook had already started suspecting why. And finally, with the third bread, I found the solution. 🤭
Thank goodness I decided to make soda bread!
It was fortunate that my poor licoli, unfortunately very neglected, was not active, and for this reason, I opted for saffron soda bread instead of the saffron bread leavened with licoli that I had initially planned.
Soda bread is a fantastic bread, a quick bread that often solves lunch or dinner for me. It is prepared in so little time, which allowed me to knead and bake freely all the saffron experiments needed to achieve the result I wanted. In summary: if you don’t know the theory, you can make up for it with stubbornness! 😄
This is how my first saffron soda bread turned out, the pale-yellow version:
And here is the final bright-yellow version:
And now I will tell you everything! 😄 Here is the recipe for my Saffron Soda Bread.
👇 Don’t you like long leavening times? Here are my other two soda breads + a couple of instant leavening ideas: 👇
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: European
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups type 1 flour
- 5.6 oz milk kefir (or plain yogurt)
- 5.4 oz milk
- 1 tsp baking soda (scant)
- 2 packets saffron
Tools
- Oven
- Bowl
Preparation
Pour the flour into a bowl. Add the baking soda and mix it well with the flour.
Make a well and pour the milk kefir into the center.
Before adding the milk, decide if you want the light yellow version or the intense yellow version.
For the light yellow version: combine the milk with the kefir and add the saffron directly. The saffron in the cold liquid does not release much color, only later during baking, the bread will appear slightly yellow in some spots, sometimes creating streaks.
For the intense yellow version: heat a portion of the milk, dissolve the saffron in the hot milk, then pour it into the bowl along with the remaining cold milk and kefir.
Stir briefly with a spoon to incorporate the flour, then knead with your hands. You need to knead quickly because the dough is very soft and sticky. To form the loaf, or baguette, or rolls, it’s useful to flour your hands and the dough repeatedly.
After achieving the desired shape, place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, make cuts on the surface with a knife or scissors.
Here are the color differences before baking between the dough with saffron added cold and the one with saffron dissolved in hot milk:
Baking: bake in the oven at 356 °F for a variable time from 25 to 40 minutes depending on the shape and size of the bread.
I don’t know if it’s usual for everyone or if it only happens to me, but all my soda breads, whether small or large loaves or rolls, open on the side as they rise.
The appearance of this side crack is always very scenic, but most importantly, the cracked side is always the crispiest, and here everyone fights over it! 😄
Baking tip: in my experience (or with my oven), dividing the dough into two small loaves or rolls, cooks better inside. Furthermore, the aftertaste of baking soda disperses more.
I took a ton of photos, so here, I’ll also add this one that I really like. As you can see, it’s one of the less yellow loaves, the version my ‘family jury’ preferred.
I liked all the versions (the yellow one has a more intense saffron flavor).
In general, soda bread, whether with saffron or not, is a bread that excels in combinations. It’s great filled with cured meats and cheeses, I particularly liked it with speck and quartirolo.
But I also renew the advice I already gave you in the recipe for my first white flour soda bread: try it with jam, or with butter and jam, or with spread and jam, or even with butter and honey! 😋
Try it! What more could you want from a bread that is quick to prepare, that is good whether hot or cold, and that is delicious even the next day?
Salt-free advice
For those who don’t know yet, this is a blog of salt-free recipes. Have you ever tried reducing salt? If you haven’t, start by reading my pill-sized advice listed here:
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Reduce salt gradually, the palate needs to adapt slowly and shouldn’t notice the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruits. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granule
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that retain flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Occasionally allow yourself a break from the rule. It’s good for morale and helps perseverance.
If you don’t want to, or can’t, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
Follow me!
In my WhatsApp channel and on Instagram, on the Facebook page and Pinterest boards, in my two groups: Catia’s group, in the kitchen and beyond and Just what I was looking for! and if you like… subscribe to my Newsletter.
In my WhatsApp channel and on Instagram, on the Facebook page and Pinterest boards, in my two groups: Catia’s group, in the kitchen and beyond and Just what I was looking for! and if you like… subscribe to my Newsletter.
And now here are the saffron recipes from my Light and Tasty colleagues:
Carla: Saffron savory pie
Daniela: Chicken bites with coconut milk and saffron with couscous
Elena: Trenette with zucchini and saffron
Franca: Farfalle with sausage, pumpkin flowers, and saffron pistils
Mary: Vegetable garden pasta with saffron
Milena: Leek soup with saffron and peas
