Recipe: Irish soda bread

This bread recipe requires minimal kneading and is a delicious yeast-free bread. It goes well with a hearty stew or on its own with jam.

Serves 12

Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 4 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for your hands and counter
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 1 cup raisins, optional

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. There are options for the baking pan. Use a regular baking sheet and line with parchment paper, use a seasoned 10 to 12-inch cast iron skillet, or grease a 9 to 10-inch cake pan or pie dish. You can also use a 5 quart, or bigger, Dutch oven. Grease or line with parchment paper if using a Dutch oven, and bake the bread with the lid off.

Whisk the buttermilk and egg together. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter, fork or your fingers. The mixture is very heavy on flour but do your best to cut in the butter until the butter is pea-sized crumbs. Stir in the optional raisins.

Pour in the buttermilk and egg mixture. Gently fold the dough together until the dough is too stiff to stir.

Pour crumbly dough onto a lightly floured work surface.

With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best as you can, then knead for about 30 seconds until all the flour is moistened. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.

Transfer the dough to the prepared skillet/pan. Using a very sharp knife, cut the dough with a slash or X about ½ deep.

Bake until the bread is golden brown and center appears cooked through, about 40-55 minutes. Loosely tent the bread with aluminum foil if you notice heavy browning on top. For better accuracy, the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer reads 195 in the center of the loaf.

Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm, at room temperature, or toasted with desired toppings/spreads.

Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Nutrition Facts (per serving):

270 calories, 6g fat (3.5g saturated fat), 380mg sodium, 48g carbohydrates, 7g protein, 2g fiber, 14g sugar

Adapted from: Sally’s Baking Addiction

Reviewed by PeaceHealth dietitians and nutritionists.