Irish Soda Bread

Hello my far-away-friends,

I’m not sure I have anything poetic to say here, but I’ll highly recommend that you make this bread asap. It has a few simple ingredients. It comes together quickly. It just came out of the oven and I ate almost half the loaf already. Eat it warm or toasted with salted butter (or butter and salt). And if you dare, a drizzle of honey or some jam. Blue or soft cheese would also be delightful. This is a mood lifter to both bake and consume.

More soon,

Snacko

A Joy of Cooking recipe

Butter a bread loaf pan. Preheat 350.

Whisk together in a large bowl:

• 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour (I sieve through a fine mesh strainer)
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt (I did more like a rounded 1/2 tp kosher salt)

Stir in:

• 1 cup raisins
• and/or 2 tsp. caraway seeds [I did caraway only. don’t worry if you have neither on hand]

In another bowl, whisk together:

• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted and still warm
• 1 cup buttermilk [if you do not have buttermilk, mix regular milk with a tablespoon fresh lemon juice or white vinegar and let stand for 5 mins]

Add the flour mixture into the liquid. Mix until flour is just moistened.

Bake 45-50 mins. Let cool in pan on rack 5-10 mins, take out and let cool rest of the way.