Eileen's Irish Soda Bread

I'm not Irish, but I LOVE Irish Soda Bread. It has just the right amount of sweetness with a few tablespoons of brown sugar combined with the raisins in the dough. I think you'll agree the finished product is the perfect mix of scone, biscuit and quick bread! The egg wash on the outside also creates a nice crunch. It's perfect alongside a rich stew or slathered with butter and jam with your morning tea. Best of all, this recipe does not contain yeast, so you can bake up this delicious bread in no time with ingredients you probably have on hand in your pantry. My mom got this recipe from a neighbor of ours when we lived in Pennsylvania, so thanks Mrs. Peters!

This recipe is pretty darn easy, but thought I'd document the process to practice my food photography.

Just mix together the dry ingredients and then cut in the butter (I used my fingers because I didn't have a pastry blender).

Combine the egg and the buttermilk and then stir it into the flour mixture. I added a little more buttermilk since the mixture seemed too dry.

Fold in the raisins and then you are ready to knead (you'll need a lot of flour - this dough is super sticky). I used the dough hook on my KitchenAid Mixer - please excuse my laziness.

Shape the dough into a round loaf and then cut a cross in the center. Beat the remaining egg and brush it on top of the loaf before baking.

Homemade bread - just.like.that. That crispy brown crust is calling my name. Oh, and thank you Restaurant Eve for supplying us with those cute pats of Kerrygold butter!

Eileen Peters' Irish Soda Bread
Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup raisins

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly.

Combine 1 egg and buttermilk, stir into flour mixture until just moistened. Fold in raisins. Knead on a floured surface for 1 minute.

Shape into a round loaf; place on a greased baking sheet. Cut a 1/4" deep cross in top of loaf. Beat remaining egg; brush over loaf.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.