This Traditional Irish Soda Bread with raisins is soft inside with a crusty. It has a tender, dense texture that is moist but still crumbly. Nothing is better than a thick slice fresh from the oven generously slathered with Irish butter and fruit jam.
In a medium bowl whisk the flour, soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Dump it on the counter or on a large wooden cutting board. You can also make this in a large bowl with a pastry blender or your hands.
Sprinkle the cold butter cubes over the flour mixture and cut in with a bench scraper or rub in with your hands until the butter pieces are almost indiscernible.
Slowly add the buttermilk, scooping the flour over the buttermilk and working it in. Do this gently. At first I use the bench scraper to mound the flour on top of the buttermilk until it is absorbed before adding a little more. After a dough begins to form, I abandon the bench scraper and just use my hands to kneed in the buttermilk until a cohesive dough forms. There shouldn’t be any dry patches but it shouldn’t be sticky either. At this point gently, but quickly, kneed in the raisins. You can always use a little more or a little less buttermilk. You want to kneed it as little as possible so that it doesn’t become tough.
Stand Mixer Method – you can also do this in a stand mixer. Simply add the dry ingredients to the bowl of the stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, along with the cubed butter and mix on low speed until no large pieces of butter remain. You want the butter to almost disappear into the flour mixture. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the buttermilk just until a cohesive dough forms. With a stand mixer, try to be very careful not to over mix. Turn out the dough onto the counter and kneed in the raisins.
Shape into a round loaf and make two cuts in the shape of a cross on the top of the dough. Make sure they are ½ inch deep for the prettiest loaf. Place in a cast iron skillet or on a parchment lined baking sheet, and bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. It is easy to over-bake this bread, so watch it!
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Notes
Yield – 1 round loafPresentation – Make the two cuts on the top of the loaf ½ inch thick to retain the cross after baking.Technique – Like with all quick breads, be sure not to over-mix or the bread will be tough.Variations – Add different dried fruit or nuts for a sweet variation, or add chopped fresh herbs and low-moisture shredded cheese for a savory option.Storage – Irish soda bread is best the day it is made or the day after. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for longer storage.Store in an airtight container at room temperature. Serve room temperature or warm!