Irish Soda Bread

Yield: 2 Loaves

• 5 cups flour
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 lb butter
• 2 1/2 cups raisins, soaked in water for 15-20 minutes and drained
• 3 tbsp caraway seeds
• 2 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg, large

Preparation: Soak and drain raisins.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter 2 9x5-inch loaf pans. I butter a cookie sheet instead and just sort of plop the dough into 2 or 3 rustic loaf shapes. Traditional Irish soda bread is a round loaf with an "x" cut into the top baked in a cast iron frying pan. Baking times will vary depending on the type of pan used.
3. Mix first 5 ingredients together in a large bowl (I use a wire wisk). Cut the butter into the flour mixture until grainy, using a pastry cutter or two butter knives. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds. Add buttermilk and egg to flour mixture and stir until well moistened.
4. Put dough into buttered baking pans (see #2 above). Using loaf pans, baking time is about 1 hour. On a cookie sheet, baking time is about 50 minutes.

Variation: Irish Soda Bread With Craisins and Orange Zest

1. Substitute craisins (soaked and drained) for the raisins.
2. Substitute 2 tbsp orange zest for caraway seeds. If using fresh orange zest that is moist, put it into the buttermilk and mix well before adding the buttermilk to the flour mixture. If using dried orange zest, you can just stir it into the other dry ingredients.

Notes: Soaking and draining the raisins/craisins helps the flour stick to them, making them spread throughout the bread more evenly. Otherwise, they tend to sink to the bottom. I forgot to add the egg once and thought I had ruined it, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

Savory suggestion not yet tried:

• 8 oz cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion
• 1/2 cup crumbled cooked bacon

Source: Natalie Kelly

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