Irish Soda Bread
I've never been a fan of Irish Soda Bread, to me it's dry and really nothing special. Well that all changed when my quilting friend RoseAnn brought a loaf of her recipe to our quilt group lunch. It's moist and sweet and all the things any Irish Soda Bread I have had in the past is not. I know it's not St. Patrick's Day, but this bread is great anytime of year. Slice it up and spread on some real butter and you'll be smitten. This recipe makes 2 loaves. Enjoy!
Ingredients
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter (cut into cubes)
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 cups raisins
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
Method
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease 2 loaf pans.
In a large bowl, whisk together the 5 cups of flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Drop in the butter cubes and using a pastry blender (or your fingers if you don't have one) work the butter into the flour.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and buttermilk together. Using a wooden spoon mix the buttermilk/egg mixture into the flour mixture. Stir until just combined being careful to not over mix.
Toss the 2 cups of raisins with the 1 Tbsp. of flour until they are covered in flour. Add the raisins to the mix, stirring until just combined.
Drop the mixture evenly into the 2 prepared loaf pans. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 350 and bake for an additional 40 minutes. Cool in the pans for 5 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and spread with butter and enjoy!
