Irish Soda Bread

As a proper Russian immigrant in America I must bake Irish Soda Bread every year for Saint Patrick’s Day.  Just kidding! I LOVE baking, my husband is Irish and even more than baking, I love making him happy.

This year we are expecting some of the best people in Tampa to join us in celebrating Saint Pat’s, so I decided to try a few authentic recipes from the “Irish Heritage Cookbook”. Here are my favorites:

Irish Soda Bread

This recipe is very close to the one entered into the 1997 cooking contest sponsored by Fitzpatrick Manhattan Hotel (687 Lexington Avenue). I soaked golden raisins in whiskey for about 30 minutes and used what was left of liquid to make whiskey butter. Trust me, it’s totally worth it! I also substituted corn oil with vegetable oil because I could not find a small bottle of corn oil in the store (this is the only time I would ever use corn oil).

1 cup of golden raisins soaked in 1/2 cup of whiskey for 30 minutes
4 cups all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur)
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
¼ cup corn oil
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 tbsp milk

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, buttermilk, and oil together. Make a well in a center of the dry ingredients and pour in a buttermilk mixture. Add the caraway seeds and drained raisins. Stir until soft dough has formed.

Shape the dough into a large ball on a lightly floured board (flour your hands if necessary for easier handling). With a sharp knife, make a cross on the center of the top. Place on the prepared pan. Brush the top with milk. Sometime I like to sprinkle some festive sugar on the top (green for this occasion). Bake in the center of the oven until golden brown, 30-40 minutes.

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Mills Inn Brown Soda Bread

Traditionally, Irish Soda Bread is made with a combination of white and whole-wheat (or any kind of brown) flours. This recipe is from Donal Scannel’s Mills Inn in Ballyvourney, County Cork.

2 cups coarse whole-wheat flour (because I lived 10 years in Vermont, I am biased towards King Arthur flour). You can also use 1 cup each wheat bran and old-fashioned oatmeal

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp cream of tartar
¼ cup sugar
4 tbsp cold butter
2 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly grease a 9-inch round cake pan (you can also shape the dough into a ball by hand and use baking sheet covered with parchment paper).

In a large bowl, stir the flours, salt, baking soda, cream of tartar, and sugar together. With a pastry cutter, or your fingers, cut the butter into the dry ingredients to the texture of coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk. With a wooden spoon or your hands, mix until a soft dough is formed.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead lightly, just enough to form a large ball. Flour your hands if necessary for easier handling. Flatten slightly. With a sharp knife, make a cross on the top. Brush the top with milk; this will make a glossy crust. Place the dough in the prepared pan and bake until the bread is lightly browned and sounds hollow when tapped, 35-40 minutes.

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Whiskey Butter

Use the whiskey leftover from soaking raisins and mix it with 9 tablespoons of soft (not melted) butter. Because we don’t use any emulsifiers, mixing alcohol with butter may take some time (it’s like trying to mix oil and vinegar). I found it easier to use an old fashioned mixer with beaters for this purpose.  

Enjoy!

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