Irish Soda Bread
This is one of my favorite recipes. I’ll be making it for St. Patrick’s day, but truth is, I make it often throughout the year. It is studded with raisins and goes great with butter and jam. It is also very easy to make. Like any other biscuit or quick bread be careful to handle the dough just enough to hold it together. Over working the dough will cause it to be tough. The soda bread should be crusty on the outside and tender and crumbly inside.
Irish Soda Bread
2 c. flour
½ t. each baking powder and baking soda
¼ t. salt
2 T. butter or margarine
¾ c. raisins
1 egg. Beaten
1 c. buttermilk*
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dust a baking sheet with a little flour. Combine dry ingredients in bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Add raisins. Combine egg and milk and set 2 tablespoons of this mixture aside. Add remaining milk mixture to flour mixture and combine just until dough forms into a ball. Place on baking sheet, brush with reserved egg mixture and cut a crisscross on top of loaf. Bake about 25 minutes or until bread sounds hollow. Makes 1.
* If you don’t have buttermilk just combine 7 oz. of milk with 1 oz. of lemon juice to equal 1 cup of buttermilk.
Stir in buttermilk and egg
Form into round loaf