Irish Soda Bread

I'm not putting down my shillelagh until I get a piece.

St. Patrick’s Day is creeping up on us, and we are gonna need some bread to help soak up all that Guiness!  What better way than with a loaf of festive Irish Soda Bread?  My roommate had some success when he teamed up with his mother to bake some for his 5th grade International Food day at Howe Manning Elementary School, and he was finally ready to fly solo for St. Patrick’s Day ’09!

Cousin Ed’s Irish Soda Bread
The Book of Bread by Judith and Evan Jones

Ingredients:
2 cups white flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp butter, softened
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup raisins
2 Tbsp caraway seeds
Confectioner’s or granulated sugar

Instructions:
In a large bowl mix the flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. Using two knives or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the dry mixture until it consists of pea-size bits. Add the buttermilk, raisins, and caraway seeds, and mix until just moist. Gather quickly into a ball; place on a lightly floured surface, and knead 1 minute. Roll into a ball and pat down to form a round, rather flat loaf. With a floured knife, cut a large cross approximately 1 1/2 inches deep into the dough. Top with a sprinkling of sugar, and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 35 minutes.
Yield: 1 round loaf

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