Irish Soda Bread

We first tried this recipe many years ago, and were surprised at how good it actually was.  It had a chewy, saltine-cracker taste which is out of the ordinary for bread, at least in our house. Although it takes a bit of time to cook, it doesn't take much time at all to prepare.  It was a nice addition to our St. Patrick's Day dinner yesterday.

 

Irish Soda Bread

3-4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, not necessary
1 1/4 cups buttermilk (or soured milk)

1/2 cup raisins, optional

Combine the dry ingredients.  Rub in the butter.  (Note: some of the recipes I looked at omitted this ingredient.)  Stir in the buttermilk and mix until combined.  Knead lightly and form into a ball on a greased cookie sheet.  Pat into a circle about 1 1/2" thick.  Score the top in an X shape.  Bake at 425° for 30 minutes. Cut into wedges to serve.  (And use lots of butter and jam if you want.)

Note: You can cut the recipe in half, or even in quarters, and bake the bread as individual rolls, and they still turn out nicely.

 

Updated 3/17/2023: We decided to add raisins this year, and actually quite liked it that way.