Time to Think About Getting your Irish on. Irish Soda Bread!

I will never be the one telling you to make Corned Beef for St. Patrick's Day.  I am not a fan.  But if you celebrate on March 17th, there are other tasty Irish delights that you can make.  My sister is in charge of the corned beef.  I politely ignore it.  I am in charge of...everything else!  This week will be dedicated to the other items I make for our St. Patrick's Day feast.

Perhaps the most important thing I make on this day is the Irish Soda Bread.  To die for.  Imagine a giant biscuit studded with currents and infused with orange zest that you split amongst your entire family.  It serves my family of 4, my sister's family of 5 and my parents.  11 people.  It's a big biscuit!

Irish Soda Bread
4 cups flour, plus a Tbl to dust the currents with, plus some for dusting your work surface
1.5 tsp Baking Soda
4 Tbl. Sugar
1 tsp Salt
4 Tbl. COLD butter, diced
1 3/4 C. Buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
Zest of 1 small orange
1 C. dried currants (they're kind of like raisins)

Preheat oven to 375 F.

In a small bowl, combine the 1 Tbl of flour with the currants.  Toss until the currants are well coated with flour.  Set aside.  The reason you do this is to keep the currants from sinking to the bottom as it bakes!!

In mixer, combine the dry ingredients: flour, soda, sugar and salt.  Using the paddle attachment, combine everything well.  Add the butter a bit at a time with the mixer on medium-low until everything is nicely incorporated.

In a bowl combine the buttermilk, egg and the orange zest.  Lightly beat everything together.  Slowly add to dry ingredients with the mixer on low.  Once the wet and dry ingredients are combined, add the currants.  The dough will be very sticky.

Flour your clean counter top generously and place the dough on top.  Begin kneading the flour into the dough and shaping it into a round loaf.  If the dough is sticking terribly to your counter, add a bit more flour.  You don't want the dough to be dry, but it also shouldn't stick too much.

Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment.

Using a serrated knife, cut an X into the dough.  This should be about 1" deep.

Bake for 50 minutes to an hour.  Test with a toothpick to make sure it's fully cooked, and if you tap the bottom of the loaf and it sounds hollow, it's done.

Let cool for a bit.  It's nice to serve this bread a bit warm.

When it's cool enough...or when I can't stand the heavenly scent anymore, I cut along the cut lines and then into smaller slices.  Sneak a bite before everyone's at the table.  Shhhhh.

Serve with plenty of butter and your favorite jam.  I use strawberry or raspberry freezer jam from the previous summer.

Only eat this.  Shun the corned beef.

Erin go Bragh !

p.s. that means Ireland Forever

Heather