Easy Irish Soda Bread Raisin Bread Recipe for Beginners
Makes 6 or more servings.
What you need:
- Cornmeal, for dusting
- 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
- 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup raisins or currants
What to do:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly oil a medium baking sheet and dust it with cornmeal.
- Mix the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup of sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the butter and cut it into the dry ingredients (or rub it in with your fingers), until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients.
- In a separate small bowl, blend the buttermilk and egg Reserve 1½ tablespoons of this liquid, then add the remainder to the
dry mixture along with the raisins. - Stir well, until evenly mixed. The dough will be wet and sticky. Let it rest for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Shake a tablespoon or two of flour over the dough and work it into the dough with the back of a wooden spoon.
- Dust the work surface generously with flour, then scrape the dough out onto it.
- Using floured hands, shape (or coax) the dough into a ball.
- If the dough is too wet to handle (it is sticky!), just cup it with your floured hands to shape it into 2 rounds. Transfer the rounds to the sheet.
- Using a sharp serrated knife, make two shallow slashes in a crisscross on top of the bread.
- Brush the top with the reserved buttermilk mixture and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar.
- Bake on the center oven rack for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.
- Cool the bread on a rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
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