Irish Soda Bread

This is my go-to recipe for Irish Soda Bread. It comes from the falling apart Betty Crocker’s Cookbook (paperback, Bantam, 1987) my dear friend M gave me when I bought my house 25 years ago.

Irish Soda Bread
Servings: 8
Prep time: 5 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, plus time for the loaf to cool

Ingredients:

• 335g all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. fine salt
• 1/2 tsp. caraway seeds (see note)
• 55g (1/3 cup) raisins
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease the bottom of an 8” round baking pan.
2. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into 12 small pieces, sprinkle across the dry ingredients, and cut the butter into a flour for about 3 minutes. The butter should mostly disappear into the dry ingredients.
3. Add 3/4 cup of buttermilk and stir it in. If there is still dry ingredients in the bowl or a ball hasn’t been formed then add a bit more buttermilk and stir. The dough shouldn’t be damp.
4. Knead the dough a few times within the bowl. Then transfer it to the prepared pan. Cut an X about 1/2″ deep across the top of the loaf.
5. Bake until well-browned, about 45 minutes. If you want to check the internal temp. you want to reach ~205°F.
6. Remove baking pan to a cooling rack and remove the loaf from the pan. Cool at least 1 hour before cutting.

Notes:
Ted insists Irish Soda Bread needs to have caraway seeds. I don’t really remember that flavor in Irish Soda Bread. So add them if you like and leave them out if it’s not your cup of tea.