Irish Soda Bread

Homemade Irish Soda Bread with Raisins
Irish Soda Bread
Adapted from Patrice Bedrosian’s “Irish Soda Bread with Raisins and Caraway,” Bon Appétit (October 2002)

This recipe was written in from Patrice Bedrosian of Brewster, New York. Patrice lost her stepbrother, Jerry O’Leary, in 9/11 and cited this as a recipe that she turned to in the days following the tragedy, to bring comfort and ease to her home. The recipe was one that she received from Jerry’s mother. I think that it is a heartfelt example of the power of food in bringing people together, honoring our past, and passing along the comfort that only something made with love can bring.

I’ve adjusted the recipe to include half whole wheat pastry flour (which I believe is similar to the soft wheat flour that was used in the traditional soda bread in Ireland). I’ve also cut down the amount of sugar and raisins in it, and substituted the caraway seeds for fennel seeds (since that’s what I had on hand). If you don’t like the licoricey-anisey flavor of caraway or fennel, feel free to omit. Also, the resulting loaf is huge. You could easily cut the dough in half and form two nice-sized loaves, great for gift-giving.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 60-75 minutes
Serves: 8-10

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, room temperature
2 cups raisins
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 large egg

Preparation:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously butter heavy ovenproof 10- to 12-inch-diameter skillet. You can also use a dutch oven.
  2. In large bowl, whisk together both flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
  3. Add butter; using fingertips to incorporate until the mixture is the consistency of corn meal. Stir in raisins and fennel seeds.
  4. Whisk buttermilk and egg in medium bowl to blend and add to dough. Stir just until well incorporated. Dough will be very sticky; I just use my hands. Be careful not to over mix or else the bread will become too dense.
  5. Transfer dough to prepared skillet; smooth top, mounding slightly in center. Using small sharp knife dipped into flour, cut 1-inch-deep “X” in top center of dough.
  6. Bake until bread is cooked through and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool bread in skillet 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely.