Let’s Talk Bread
Like many, I am heavily obsessed with all things bread. Loaves, buns, pastries. Whole wheat, white, Italian. You name it, I love it.
However, one particular bread that hits close to home is Irish Soda bread. If you could not tell by my name, I am very much an Irish Catholic and I take my Irish soda bread very seriously.
I’m sure that when you think of Irish Soda bread, you think of eating a very dry piece of bread and almost choking to death. Not a fun experience, but unfortunately the case when eating Irish soda bread roughly 6/10 times. Then there’s the dilemma of needing to slather on an ungodly amount of butter just to get it down.
I have had many a great loaf of soda bread, but unfortunately many of them are dry and I didn’t like that about irish soda bread recipes.
I wanted to create a recipe that tasted like traditional Irish Soda bread, but was more fluffy and smooth in texture. It’s taken me a long time, but finally I’ve created the best irish soda bread recipe *ever*. (Sorry Taylor) I also wanted to create an Irish Soda bread so good that it would change the way that anyone who eats it thinks about soda bread forever. Yes, it’s that serious.
After creating this recipe, I was told by a coworker at a previous job that he never (I mean like, never) eats bread, but he just knew my soda bread recipe would be worth it and he loved it. I’m still not over that comment as you can tell.
The Ingredients
Let’s talk goods. For this recipe, you’ll need:
3 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
raisins / caraway seeds – up to the baker’s discretion / I eyeball about 1/2 cup of raisins
1 egg
2 and 1/4 cups buttermilk (reassess and add more when needed)
1/4 cup melted butter
The Method
For the method, I don’t follow the traditional baking standard of mixing wets and drys and then combining. I know- I’m a rebel. For this recipe, I find it is best to do it old fashioned like and combine everything in a bowl together and slowly fold together. I have found that using an electric mixer does not give me the same level of fluffiness and I find it tastes much more hearty and whole when mixed by hand. I’d mix for roughly 7 minutes or until thoroughly combined.
The Baking Dish
Now, here’s where my recipe differs from a traditional Irish soda bread. I find that this bakes best in a rectangular glass baking dish, roughly a 9 x 5 pan. This is definitely up to you, but I prefer a loaf looking loaf rather than a circle.
Baking
For baking, preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Grease your pan; I use Pam spray. Once in the oven, set a timer for approximately 65 minutes. Let cool before cutting.
Serving
This bread is best served with friends and family, warm and with heaps of butter. Enjoy the best Irish soda bread recipe *ever*!