In honor of another St. Paddy’s day that has come and gone, I’d like to share a recipe for Irish Soda Bread. I had only ever had Irish Soda Bread once in my life. During one of my years at a Catholic grammar school, an Irish-American friend of mine brought the stuff into class one St. Patrick’s Day, and I’ve remembered the dense, slightly sweet bread ever since. Feeling bold, I decided to try a recipe for it that I found on Saveur. I made a few slight alterations, though the recipe is quite good.
Irish Soda Bread (adapted from Saveur)
- 4 cups flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 1/2 cup buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 425. Mix together flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Work room-temperature butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then add in raisins.
Making a well in the mixture, add egg and buttermilk. Mix liquids into dry mixture with a wooden spoon until it is too stiff to stir (if mixture is a bit sticky, add a little more flour). Knead dough gently in bowl, form a ball. Move dough to floured surface and shape into a round loaf.
Transfer dough to lightly greased baking sheet. With a knife, score dough in an X shape. Bake in oven until crust is golden brown, about 40 minutes.
Serve warm.
My best advice is to eat this within a day (invite your friends over!). Though the bread is superb fresh, it left a little to be desired the following day.
Try for yourself though. Enjoy (with a cup of tea)!
