Irish Soda Bread

The best Irish Soda Bread you're ever going to eat!

Irish Soda Bread is one of my favorite things to bake - and eat! Although it is generally considered a bread to be eaten only during the St. Patrick's day season, I think that this bread can be eaten whenever you want.

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A few notes about tools:

• When I mix the butter into the flour, I use a pastry cutter (like the one in the first 2 pictures below) to make sure the butter gets cut up into small enough pieces.

• Also, to split the dough into two pieces, I use a dough scraper (picture on the left).

• These tools are useful for all types of baked goods like breads, scones, and pie crust.

Irish Soda Bread

Author: Lizzie Reback         Makes: 2 loaves (12-15 slices)
Prep Time: 20ish minutes      Bake Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes        Cuisine: Bread

Ingredients:
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 tbsp. caraway seeds
- 3/4 cup raisins or currants
- 1 3/4 to 2 cups low fat cultured buttermilk

Directions: 
1. Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, mix flour, toasted             wheat germ, baking soda and salt together.
2. With fingertips or a pastry cutter blend butter into flour until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. 
3. Add caraway seeds and raisins and stir to combine
4. Stir in 1 3/4 cups of buttermilk (add more if it needs to be moistened evenly). Don't overwork the dough.
5. On a floured surface, knead the dough for 1-2 minutes, sprinkling with additional flour to prevent sticking. Divide the dough in half and form into 5-inch rounds. Cut a shallow "X" on top of each round. 
6. Lightly sprinkle a baking sheet with flour and place rounds on it. Bake for 35 minutes, or until golden brown. To test for doneness, tap on the bottom of the loaf; it should sound hollow.

Notes: 
- Don't add too much buttermilk! Irish soda bread is meant to be a dry bread, so super sticky dough is not always a good thing. If the dough gets too sticky, simply knead in more flower. 
- Cool the bread on a rack covered with a clean towel. 
- Serve either warm or room temperature with salted butter.

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