Irish Soda Bread With Caraway Seeds And Raisins
It’s my birthday week! Yay!
There are some beautiful benefits of being born on St. Patricks day. Everything is green, there are parades, and everyone’s in a good mood because it’s impossible to feel grumpy on St. Patty’s. The biggest question I get about my birthday is if it’s always on St. Patricks day, and yes it is; it is always on March 17th. So who was St. Patrick? He brought Christianity to Ireland and used the shamrock to represent the holy trinity. March 17th is supposed to be the day of his death. If you want to learn more about the holiday, visit https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/history-of-st-patricks-day.
This will be my second birthday in a pandemic. Last year I saw my grandparents and mum through the glass door at my house, and this year looks like we will be celebrating from six feet away again. My grandmother usually makes Irish Soda Bread or some type of beer bread for my birthday dinner, but because of Covid, I’m fending for myself this year.
So here are some tips and tricks for making Irish soda bread:
Room Temperature: Make sure your ingredients are room temperature. Grab your eggs, buttermilk and sour cream, measure everything, and let them come up to room temp. This helps everything come together when you mix your liquids into your dry mix.
Cast Iron Skillet: Use a cast iron skillet if you can! Make sure to grease it before you plop your bread in there. The cast iron will give your dough a beautiful gold brown crust the bottom and sides of your bread. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, use a 9 inch cake pan.
Ice: For additional crispiness, throw a few ice cubes into the bottom of your oven when you throw put your bread in to bake. This will give your bread a lovely crust on the top. Make sure to to brush the top of your bread with buttermilk to make it extra golden brown and crisp.
Cutting the top: This dough is VERY, VERY sticky. If it is too sticky when you try to cut the top, run the knife under water before you make your cut. Scoring the top of the bread makes it easier for the bread to bake all the way through.
Scroll down for the recipe for Irish Soda Bread With Caraway Seeds And Raisins.
Irish Soda Bread With Caraway Seeds And Raisins
Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet or a 9 in cake pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1 Cup Raisins
- 1 Cup Golden Raisins
- 1 Tablespoon Caraway Seeds
- 1 1/4 Cups Buttermilk
- 1 Cup Sour Cream
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350° F.
- Grease your cast iron skillet or your 9 inch cake pan.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Add your raisins to your dry mix and using a rubber spatula, stir to combine.
- In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together your eggs, buttermilk and sour cream until everything is combined.
- Pour your wet mixture into your dry mixture and, using a rubber spatula, stir until everything is incorporated. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of your bowl.
- Using a folding motion, keep moving your dough around for about 30 seconds. Your dough should start to come away from the sides of the bowl (it should still be super sticky). Once it starts coming away from the sides, it is ready to put into your cast iron skillet or a 9 in cake pan.
- Once your dough is in the pan, cut an X into the top of the bread. If your dough is still really sticky and hard to cut, run your knife under water before you score your bread.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the top of your bread with some buttermilk.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes until golden brown, and if you poke in the center with a toothpick, the toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
