Yields 1 large loaf SERVINGS
Ingredients
- 3 cups white all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup buttermilk (add 1 tablespoon vinegar to a scant cup almond, soy or cow’s milk)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup raisins
- Few additional tablespoons of milk (plant-based or dairy)
Directions
- Mix together the flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl or in your KitchenAid mixer.
- Add the softened butter, buttermilk and egg and mix it together. Add in raisins and combine well.
- Use your hands to form a dough ball. Knead with your mixer or on a floured surface for 2 to 3 minutes, or use your KitchenAid with the dough hook.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375 F. Shape a loaf and put it on the prepared cookie sheet. Cut an “X” in the top of the loaf. Cover lightly, and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Brush loaf with additional milk.
- Bake either on a pizza stone or your cookie sheet for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 F. Bake another 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
With all the baking I do and being a bit Irish (can you guess by my name?), you would think that I’d have made Irish Soda Bread before, but no. Last Saturday was my first attempt. I would have searched through my grandmother’s cookbook to find her recipe but it is already packed deep in a box for our move, so I had to rely on the Internet. I combined a couple of recipes and came up with the recipe below.
The bread was delicious for the first day and a half, but after that it dried out. We used it for French toast last night for dinner, which was great!