Irish Soda Bread

When I made my Irish Soda Bread video, the picture is the link, I wanted to stay as traditional as possible. There was a problem. The recipes I researched and I picked up from my wife's family were all across the board. You had the biscuit method and the muffin method being used. You had buttermilk, sour cream, whole milk and even yogurt providing the liquid portion of the recipe. Quantities were all over the place. I haven't seen this much variation in a recipe since I researched Sauce Béarnaise for a project at culinary school.

I had to break it down to its most basic form. Irish Soda Bread is a quick bread using chemical leavening, flavored with raisins and caraway seeds.

Since I mentioned the biscuit and muffin methods, I should define them.

Muffin Method - Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl. Then the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Once you are ready to place in the oven combine the two, shape and bake.

Biscuit method - Rub or cut the fat into the flour and leavening agent. Then stir In the liquids.

I took the 4 family recipes I got (thanks, Millie, Rose and Cindy) and chose the attributes I liked and created my own. First thing I did is replace some of the raisins with other dried fruit. I used dried cherries and dried blueberries. Then I chose to use the muffin method. The biscuit method is great for giving you a flaky texture. Which I didn't want in my Irish soda bread. Finally I decided to cut the wheat flour with oat flour. I wanted to reduce the gluten and increase the health benefits a bit.

This is what I came up with.

2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 cup Oat Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
3 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
Pinch Salt
2 Tbsp Caraway Seed
1 cup mixed Dried Fruit (I used golden raisins, blueberries and cherries)
1 cup Buttermilk
1/8 cup Oil (neutral flavored like canola)

First, we must soak the dried fruit. Cover with warm water. This will soften them up. We want them to soak for 20 to 30 minutes. You could skip this step but they could dry out even more during the baking. So don't skip this step!

Set your oven to 350f.

This recipe could be baked on a sheet pan but it will spread out in the oven. If you like your Irish soda bread the height of biscotti go ahead and do that. I used an 8 inch cake pan to give the bread a little structure until the batter sets in the oven. Spray this cake pan with non-stick spray and dust with flour.

Just before you start measuring out the other ingredients drain the fruit.

In large mixing bowl combine the flour, oat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and caraway seeds. Give this a good stir to completely mix together. combine the oil and butter milk in the measuring cup.

Pour the wet ingredients onto the dry ingredients and give it a quick stir. Add in the drained fruit and stir this until it comes together in a bit of a shaggy mess. Turn this out on a floured surface. Knead this until it it is no longer sticky and the outside is taut. Lift the dough up. Does it stick to the counter/cutting board? if so you need to work a little more flour into the dough.

Place the dough in the cake pan. Cut an "X" in the top of the loaf and place in the oven.

After an hour remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack and let it cool. This will give the flour a chance to completely set. After 10 minutes remove the bread from the pan and allow it the loaf to cool completely on the wire rack.

Next step is crucial. Slice, smear with butter, grind on a little sea salt and eat!

Enjoy ~ Terry