Soda Bread

It has been quite some time since we shared a recipe, and I hope that now that I am done with school that I can find the time to share something tasty with you once a month.

St. Patrick’s Day is this weekend and I don’t know about you, but I LOVE Irish food. Traditional Irish Soda Bread doesn’t have any dried fruits or anything in it, but this version is quite good. So, today I give you my take on Soda Bread. This recipe is based on Ina Garten’s.

What You’ll Need…

4 Cups All Purpose Flour

4 Tablespoons Sugar

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1 ½ Teaspoons Salt

4 Tablespoons Cold Butter (Cut into cubes)

1 ¾ Cup Buttermilk

1 Egg

½ Cup Raisins

½ Cup Dried Cranberries

Preheat your oven to 375.

Place parchment paper onto a baking sheet. A well-greased pan or non-stick foil on a baking sheet will work, too.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl and mix with a hand or stand-mixer. While mixing on low add the cubes of butter and mix until the butter is mixed in.

With a fork lightly beat together the buttermilk and egg, With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture.

Combine the dried fruit with a tablespoon of flour so that they don’t all sink to the bottom and mix them into the dough. Don’t worry, the dough will be wet.

Dumped the dough out onto a flour cutting board or counter and knead it into a rounded loaf.

Place the loaf onto the prepared baking sheet and using a bread knife cut an X into the top of the loaf.

Bake for 45 – 55 minutes. It will sound hollow when it is done.

Cool on a wire rack.

Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold – plain, with butter, or with jelly. There really is no wrong way to eat this bread.

Enjoy!