Irish Soda Bread

Since I'm not going to be in town to celebrate St Patrick's day, I thought this weekend I would bake some Irish themed goodies. First up, a lovely bread that turned out much better than I had expected. Usually I am not a fan of raisins in bread, but it really works in this recipe with the texture and the caraway. I found this recipe on the Food Network site, and I would definitely make it again. This bread comes together in under an hour!

I'm trying to remember to take more pictures during the process, but I get too into the recipe sometimes :)

Raisin Caraway Soda Bread
(Food Network)

1/2 cup golden raisins
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
2 tablespoons treacle or molasses ( I used honey instead)
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 tablespoons rolled oats

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the raisins in a bowl and cover with 1 cup boiling water. Let sit and rehydrate for 10 minutes, then drain well in a sieve.

Into a large bowl sift together the flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the butter into the dry ingredients and work with your fingertips until it resembles dry crumbs. Add the caraway seeds, treacle, buttermilk and raisins and work with your fingers until just mixed and a wet dough is formed, being careful not to over mix. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and form into a round. Press down on the dough with the palm of your hand and press to form a flat round about 1 1/2-inches high.

With a knife, cut a 1/4-inch deep cross in the center of the dough. With a pastry brush paint the dough with the cream and sprinkle the top with the oats. Place on a baking sheet and bake until light brown and cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cool slightly on a wire rack before slicing. Serve warm with plenty of sweet butter.

I decided to use it in a corned beef sandwich, and it was delish!


I also entered this bread in the BreadBakingDay #8, check it out here.