Irish Soda Bread
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.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 50 min
- Yield
- 16 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
- 1+3/4 cup buttermilk (see recipe notes)
- 1 large egg
- 4 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1+1/2 tsp salt
- 4 cup all purpose flour
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter (chilled)
- 1 cup currants or raisins (optional)
- zest of one orange (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- 2
In a small bowl whisk together the buttermilk and egg. Set aside.
- 3
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.
- 4
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.
- 5
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.
- 6
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.
- 7
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!