Cast Iron Jim's Irish Soda Bread

Good Morning Folks!

     Welcome to Cast Iron Jim's Blog on all things Cast Iron. Today I shall provide one of my favorite bread recipes. Irish Soda Bread is a heavy dense bread. Use this bread to soak up stew or gravy.

Cast Iron Jim's Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients

4 Cups All-purpose flour

1 cup Oats (meal)

4 tbs Sugar

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt

4 tbs Cold Unsalted Butter cut into 1/2 inch bits

1 3/4 cup Cold Whole Milk

1 egg lightly beaten

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375F. Remember to place your cast iron skillet in the oven to allow it to heat up as well.

Combine ingredients and mix in a bowl.

Place dough on a cutting board which has been dusted with flour. Knead dough in to a round, flat loaf approximately 2 inches thick and 8 inches in diameter. 

Take the pre-heated skillet out of the stove and oil with some coconut oil.

Score an x into the top after placing into the skillet.

Bake for 45 minutes.

   Thanks for visiting, and I hope you return soon! Until next time, Cast Iron Jim Out!

It is good to be back home.

     Over the course of the last 8 months, I have been absent from posting on Cast Iron Jim. My absence was by no means intentional, I have simply had to answer the call to duty. The majority of the time absent was spent at sea answering my Nation's calling. Unfortunately, my at sea duties prevented me from using the internet with any regularity so I chose to simply be absent for the time being.
     One of the most frequent topics sailors discuss while at sea "enjoying" the food purchased from the lowest bidder made to last for dozens of years tasting of whatever that food stuff was packaged within is well... food. By now it is well known to my fellow sailors, that I one of my favorite addictions hobbies is collecting, restoring and using cast iron. As a result I was often queried by other sailors on how to use cast iron when cooking. This is a completely reasonable, and often repeated topic that I have experienced.
     Cooking in cast iron is actually not that difficult, and when done correctly actually does make a very durable non-stick surface. Cast iron can be used to cook just about anything. Something I learned early on is that homemade corn bread using cast iron is one of the simplest and most rewarding meal items that can be cooked in cast iron. I often advise folks to cook lots of corn bread in their cast iron to assist in developing seasoning on new cast iron. The following is the corn bread recipe I developed early on to assist in seasoning cast iron. Remember the trick to successful baking of bread in cast iron is to heat the pan first, before pouring the batter into the pan. You can also find this recipe and more information located at www.castironjim.com

Jim's Traditional Cast Iron Cornbread

This recipe makes enough batter to cook in a No. 8 Skillet. You might have to double the batch to season a bigger skillet. I don't recommend halving the batch for a smaller skillet. Simply make a second cornbread when the first is done. Remember to always oil and heat the cast iron pan in the oven before adding the batter.

2 Tbs. Coconut oil

2 C. White or Yellow Cornmeal
½ C. flour, (whole wheat if your prefer) sifted
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 C. buttermilk (milk)
1 egg, lightly beaten

Butter and Honey to taste

1. Set oven to 450°F. Cover a No. 8 cast iron skillet with an even coat of coconut oil. Put the skillet in oven until set temperature reached. 

2. Mix together then and set aside the dry ingredients. 

3. Whisk together egg and buttermilk.

4. Mix the egg and buttermilk with dry ingredients, adding wet to dry, until just combined. 

5. Carefully remove skillet from oven, pour hot oil into batter, and stir to mix. Pour batter into skillet, return to oven and bake for 20 minutes. 

6. Cornbread should be browned on top, and pulling away from sides of skillet. A toothpick stuck in the center should come out clean. 

7. Remove and allow to cool a few minutes before turning out onto a plate for slicing. 

8. Serve with butter or honey.

Enjoy! And until next time Cast Iron Jim out!

The value of cast iron.

So... How much is my Cast Iron worth?

 

Wagner DO, Iron Mountain Lid, Two Griswold 866 Sheep

     That is another common question that I hear on a regular basis. Though I do my best to assist my customers in placing a price their items, it really does depend on a few factors.

     1. What is the condition? This is a common question that MUST be answered when pricing a piece of cast iron. Like any other collectible or antique, a piece of hollow ware that is in mint or near mint condition will fetch a higher price on the open market than one that has a lot of pitting or a crack.

     2. What is the brand? Most folks you talk to will recognize three major brands of Cast Iron Hollow Ware. In my opinion, out of the hundreds of manufacturers that have or do exist the US, these are the three most folks are likely to recognize: Lodge (still manufacturing cast iron today), Wagner Ware and Griswold. You can find more information on these companies here. I have customers that will only buy a certain brand of cast iron. Others simply don't care. They value functionality of the cookware more than the brand. Still others seek a specific type simply because it looks nice on a shelf. I personally favor Griswold. However, I use a Lodge No. 10 very frequently.

     3. What is the functionality of the specific item? In the world of Cast Iron Hollow Ware, there are three major types. Collectibles: These are not to be cooked on or with. They tend to be museum quality and usually fetch the highest prices. Users: These may be old, they tend to be common enough or in a less than perfect condition that folks are willing to take the risk of damaging them by using them. This is the most common type that I sell. The last are decorative or reproduction (spoken fake). The danger with these pieces are that they may have been made using questionable manufacturing techniques. In fact, I have come across tiny cast iron skillets used with candles. They have a big sign in bold letters that say "DO NOT USE FOR COOKING". Ever since I have found these I tend to avoid cast iron pieces of questionable origins.

No 7 Lodge Skillet Lid. A fairly uncommon piece.
Since the skillet is uncommon, it was a hard sell. I had
to find a buyer that already owned the skillet.

     4. Is there any sentimental value to the cast iron? A lot of times this hidden emotion will get in the way of somebody selling their cast iron. I actually had a friend who's wife did not know how to cook with cast iron. She became frustrated and told him to get rid of it and give it to me. He didn't really care about it, so he approached me about this. I asked him where she got it and he said he didn't know, but he knew that her dad got it somewhere. I had a funny feeling about the whole thing so I told him that we were going to re-season the cast iron and I would show him how to teach her to use the cast iron correctly. She came home from a trip to perfectly seasoned cast iron using methods found here. She was then very happy that he did not give away the collection of cast iron. As I suspected, over half of her collection were heirlooms that she received from a great-grandmother. The collective prices that I would have put on all these pieces would have added up to more than $400. For her though, they were worth far more.

     5.How rare or in demand is the item? With the advent of online auctions, many items that were once rare became quite available. Another consideration in rarity is that popularity of certain types of hollow ware cycle. For example, about 20 years ago Gem Pans became quite popular. In fact there a very nice collectors guide titled Griswold Muffin Pans which was published by Schiffer in 1997. This book is a fantastic aid in identify the scarcity and types of these pans. Nowadays it seems that the Lodge Wildlife Series the larger (Size 14 or 20) skillets are the desirable style.

I found this pan buried in the back bottom cabinet at an
antique store with a tattered and faded price tag for
$32.50. This same pan recently sold at auction for
$152.50. You can find the description of this pan in the
Griswold Muffin Pans on page 42.

     6. Lastly, and in my opinion, the largest driving factor in the price of an item is the price agreed upon by the person selling the item and the person purchasing the item. The value of an item is more of a philosophical ideal than anything. For example, my friend's wife who almost gave me a collection of cast iron. As stated before, I would have priced all the items for around $400. She valued those much more than that. She was a little upset when she realized that she almost gave away a family heirloom.

     What if you have a one of a kind skillet? Perhaps it is even a prototype? Well, that may be, but you will only receive for it what somebody is willing to pay for that item. If you have only one customer you may not have as high of a price compared to have two competing customers. I have lots of one of a kind rocks out back. Sure, they may be granite or some other common mineral type, but each one has its own shape and weight making it unique. If you are into collecting one of a kind items, I have some stones for sale. On the other hand, when it comes to a rare or one of a kind cast iron item, it just might be very desirable and therefore command a very high price in an open market.

     In closing, I cannot claim to be an expert on the value of your item. I am however, happy to answer any questions you might have on this topic. I do sell decent amount of cast iron and have a general idea of what prices different types of items tend to command. Please e-mail me using jim@castironjim.com with your questions. Please include pictures of the item as this will help in judging quality. Remember, you can always find more information at www.castironjim.com. Thanks for visiting and until next time, Cast Iron Jim out.