Raisin and caraway soda bread
You don't have to knead this bread or let it rise for hours to get a tasty loaf. This "quick bread" takes just a few minutes to mix and less than 30 minutes to bake.With bread-making this fast, you can have a fresh hot loaf with dinner every night. In its most basic form, Irish soda bread consists of nothing but flour, baking soda, buttermilk, and salt. Feel free to experiment with ingredients—you can use whole-wheat flour instead of white, for example, or dried cherries, cranberries, candied orange peel, or even chocolate instead of raisins. It is best eaten freshly baked and warm or toasted.
Preparation Time:5 minutes
Cooking Time:30 minutes
Level of Difficulty:Easy
Ingredients
- * 4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
- * 2 Tbsp sugar
- * 1 teaspoon salt
- * 1 teaspoon baking soda
- * 4 Tbsp butter
- * 1 cup raisins
- * 1 egg, lightly beaten
- * 2 cups buttermilk
- * 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
Method
- 2)Sift the flour, baking soda, sugar, and salt together into a large bowl. rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles breadcrumbs.
- 3)Add the raisins, caraway seeds, and milk. Mix the dough until just combined; avoid overmixing as this will cause the dough to toughen.
- 4)Turn the dough into a lightly floured surface. Press the dough into a ball. Form the dough into two equal loaves, or cut into sixteen equal pieces to make rolls. Dust with flour and lightly score an "X" across the top of each roll or loaf with a sharp knife.
- 5)Bake the soda bread until it is lightly browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, about eight to ten minutes for rolls and twenty-five minutes for loaves. Wrap the bread in a tea towel directly out of the oven. Cool the soda bread in the tea towel on a wire rack before serving. It can be held at room temperature for up to two days or frozen for up to four weeks.
