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It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day, so I figured it would be fun to make something with a bit of Irish flair (I’ll let you do your own research on the interesting history of soda breads)!
Soda breads are breads that use baking soda as a leavening agent rather than yeast. This makes it a really quick bread option. Plus, it uses basic pantry staples! The texture of the baked bread is soft and dense and it has a nice crusty exterior.
A few tips:
-Don’t overwork the dough while you’re mixing (you want the interior of the baked bread to be tender).
-I like to bake my bread in a dutch oven (I think it makes for a better crust).
-Making a cross in the top of the shaped dough allows the interior to bake all the way through.
-You can leave out the cinnamon and/or raisins if you’d like.
-I like to serve this toasted with plenty of butter. It would also make some really nice French toast!
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter cold and cut into small pieces
- 1 cup raisins
- 1 3/4 cup buttermilk
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a dutch oven with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.
Use your hands or a pastry cutter to work the butter into the flour mixture (it should resemble coarse breadcrumbs). Stir in the raisins.
Add the buttermilk and stir until just combined. The dough will be pretty sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface and gently knead about 10 times (don't overwork the dough). The dough will still be pretty sticky - this is okay.
Gently form the dough into a round loaf and transfer to the prepared dutch oven. Use a sharp knife to cut an X into the top of the dough (about 3/4" deep).
Bake for 45-50 minutes until the bread is golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
Allow the bread to mostly cool before slicing.
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