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–+ servings

Irish Soda Bread

Amy
A giant loaf of biscuit-like bread, studded with currants and flavored with some orange zest. This is the perfect bread to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, serve with soup or enjoy as a snack.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Bread, Side Dish
Cuisine Irish
Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ¾ cup buttermilk see recipe notes
  • 1 large egg
  • 4 Tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 4 cups all purpose flour
  • 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 cup currants or raisins optional
  • zest of one orange optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  • In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk and egg. Set aside.
  • Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and lightly mix together. Add the currants and orange zest if using and lightly coat with the flour mixture.
  • Grate the cold butter directly into the mixture or cut the butter into small chunks or use a pastry cutter until the butter is finely incorporated. There should be no big lumps of butter, just small pea-sized pieces.
  • Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and stir to lightly incorporate. If the dough is a little sticky, add a little extra flour. Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead once or twice. This is a quick bread, so you don’t want to activate the gluten in the flour with a lot of kneading. Shape into a round circle.
  • Transfer the loaf to the baking pan and score a large X on the top. Bake for 20 minutes and then check the top of your bread. If it is browning quickly, cover the top with a sheet of aluminum foil to prevent burning. Bake until the bread is cooked through, about 45-50 minutes. 
  • Allow bread to cool 15 minutes and then serve warm. It can also be eaten at room temperature or toasted for a snack later. Enjoy!

Notes

Buttermilk: I always pick up buttermilk at the store to use in my baking. I think it is superior to most substitutions. With that said, the best substitution I have found for one cup of buttermilk is:
  • a mixture of ½ cup plain yogurt (or sour cream) and ½ cup milk mixed together (per cup of buttermilk)
Keyword best homemade bread, biscuit,, easy homemade bread, Irish Soad Bread, irish soda bread, irish soda bread recipe, quickbread, quickbread recipe, soda bread recipe, St. Patrick's Day
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