Previously for Saint Patrick's day,
I made a spice-rubbed, braised, and glazed corned beef brisket
and colcannon.
Our Saint Patrick's day celebration continues with Irish Soda bread,
so named because it uses baking soda as the leavening ingredient.
Legend has it that the customary X-slash
cut into the top before baking serves to ward off evil spirits.
Irish Raisin Soda Bread
4 cups flour
3 TB sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
6 TB cold unsalted butter, diced
1 cup raisins
1 TB caraway seeds
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Mix first five ingredients in a bowl.
Cut in the butter with a pastry blender
until you have coarse to pea-sized crumbs.
Stir in raisins and caraways seeds.
Set aside 1 TB beaten egg for a wash.
In a small bowl, combine remaining eggs and buttermilk.
Stir into flour mixture and mix until flour
is just moistened.
It will be a sticky dough.
Turn onto a lightly floured board and knead a bit.
If the dough's too sticky, lightly dust it with flour.
Form into a ball.
Place in a buttered 9-inch round baking pan.
Cut a 4-inch long, 1/4-inch deep cross in the center.
Brush the top with the reserved tablespoon of egg.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15-20 minutes.
Cool about 15 minutes in pan,
then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
First, one must properly measure dry ingredients.
Do not use the glass Pyrex measuring cups for dry ingredients.
They're used for liquid measurements.
When measuring flour, scoop and sweep.
Ever noticed the opening to a baking powder can
and wonder why isn't it open all the way around
and what's that metal lip for?
Work in the butter with a pastry blender.
You don't want a homogeneous mixture.
You want different sized crumbs from coarse meal to pea.
... until you can pull it into a shaggy ball.
It's a sticky dough,
so you may need to lightly dust it with flour.
Brush with the reserved egg
and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15-20 minutes.
I tented it with foil after about 50 minutes.
Cool about 15 minutes in the pan,
then cool completely on a wire rack.
By the way, that's Moreover Corned Beef Hash in the background.
1 comment:
Looks yummy.
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