Irish Soda Bread - special for St. Patrick's Day

5 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter
2 1/2 cups mixed light raisens and currents, soaked in water for 15 to 20 minutes and drained.
3 tbls. caraway seeds
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 large egg, slightly beaten

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter 2 loaf pans (9 by 5 inches)

Stir together the sifted flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Cut in the butter and mix very thoroughly with your hands until it gets grany. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds.

Add the buttermilk and egg to the flour mixture. Stir until well moistened.
Place half of dough in each loaf pan and bake for 1 hour until golden on top. Cool in the pans for 3 to 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

A lot of soda bread is quite dry but this is wonderfully moist and absolutely out of this world! Slante!
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I love Irish Soda Bread, and this recipe is so timely!

And even I can make it ..... NO YEAST!!

Lee
 
A lady after my own heart.....that's exactly the reason why I liked this recipe! No yeast and no kneading. Despite arthritis in my hands (or possibly because of it) I detest kneading anything. But my favorite aspect of this bread is the moistness which is the result of the buttermilk, I think. We just love the stuff and my husband will finish off an entire loaf at one sitting. A fine Irishman, he is! And a BIG one he'll be if he keeps this up! :thankyou:

FM
 

chilefarmer

New member
Fallon, looks like a good one. I will be trying it. I have made soda bread in the past but was not pleased with it at all. Thanks for the recipe. CF
 

Johnny West

Well-known member
Here is an oat soda bread I made a few years ago, it was a hit, never made it again and won't tomorrow either. Once I'm back on my feet and can handle spending more time in the kitchen it's on my to make list. I can't remember making the oat flour or if I found some, though. The gal i got this recipe from was one of the first food blogs I followed on twitter, her young husband passed away, unexpectedly, from a MI and couldn't follower her anymore due to her so sad posts. Anyway, this is her recipe.

Oat Soda Bread

7 ounces oat flour

10 ounces all purpose flour, plus more for dusting and sprinkling

1 teaspoon (4 grams) granulated sugar

1 3/4 teaspoons (12 grams) baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons (6 grams) fleur de sel

2 cups (450 ml) plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk

Arrange rack in center of oven. Preheat to 400ºF.

Add flours, sugar, baking soda and salt to a deep bowl. Whisk together to mix well. Pour in 2 cups of buttermilk and stir using a wooden spoon until just combined.

Lightly flour a clean countertop or large cutting board. Dump dough onto surface and knead briefly, 30 to 60 seconds until it forms a relatively smooth ball. Place on a lightly floured rimmed baking sheet. Slightly flatten ball of dough.

Brush sides and top with remaining buttermilk. Sprinkle top with a generous amount of flour, 2 to 3 tablespoons. Using a very sharp knife, slash a deep "X" on the top of the loaf, making sure not to cut all the way through.

Bake for 25 minutes, then move tray to upper middle rack of oven and bake for 15 more minutes until it becomes a deep golden color and temperature registers 185ºF. It should sound hollow when tapped with your knuckle. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool for at least an hour before slicing.

 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Cool-looking loaf, John! I'll bet the oat flavor was wonderful!

I can't wait to have some this weekend!

Lee
 

Johnny West

Well-known member
The bread was excellent, Lee. I don't know why I never made it again? I'm not one to make bread, thinking it too daunting of a task. It's the same with kolaches, too, but then I'd eat them all.
 

QSis

Grill Master
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I finally got around to making Fallon's recipe for Irish Soda Bread - wonderful!

It makes 2 loaves, so I made one without caraway seeds for a friend who doesn't like them, and made the other loaf as written.

Delicious as is, but exponentially better when toasted!

Lee
 

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