Irish Soda Bread

Confession:  I never had Irish soda bread until I was dating my husband (then boyfriend) back in college at his family's St. Patrick's Day dinner.  Freshly baked, filled with sweet raisins and slathered in butter- I was in carb heaven.

Suffice to say, Irish traditions weren't upheld in the house where I grew up.   I happily marched in the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade with my friends and sure, we had corned beef, but it wasn't a tradition really.  That corned beef?  We made reubens.  (Jon will also add in that my mom seasoned that corned beef with garlic and oregano, almost negating the fact it's Irish not Italian, but whatever, it was delicious.) 

Regardless of the above circumstances, those Irish eyes smiled down and I married into a family full of St. Paddy's Day traditions.

And I got the family soda bread recipe.  Complete with permission to pass it along to you today, you lucky leprechans.                                                                                

    McCann Irish Soda Bread

4 cups all purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon double acting baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups raisins (I prefer golden raisins)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease 2 quart round casserole. 

In large bowl with fork, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.  With pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.**  Stir in raisins.In small bowl with fork, beat eggs slightly, remove 1 tablespoon and reserve. Stir buttermilk into remaining egg.  Stir into flour mixture just until the flour is moistened, (the dough will be really sticky)  Turn dough onto well floured surface, knead about 10 strokes to mix thoroughly.***  Shape into a ball, place in casserole.  In center of ball, cut 4 inch cross, 1/4 inch deep.  Brush dough with reserved egg.  Bake 1 hour and 20 minutes.  Cool in casserole on wire rack 10 minutes.  Remove from casserole and cool completely on rack.

That's the recipe as it was passed on to me, but after making it for a dozen years, I have adjusted it a little.  I always soak my raisins in warm water for 15 minutes before adding them.  I like how it adds a little moisture to the bread and it counteracts any really hard dried raisins.  Also, I don't own a pastry cutter so I usually mix the butter in by hand.  Just be sure to only use only your fingertips to mix the butter into the flour.  If you use your whole hand the butter will get too warm and it won't mix properly.  Then I use my stand mixer to actually make the dough.  Not only is it cleaner, but I could never get it mixed properly in just 10 strokes.  

This was the first year that our daughter got to help make the bread, too, which I loved.  So many traditions are made in the kitchen and around a dining table.  

Now if only I could get her to eat raisins so she'll try a bite.