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Irish Soda Bread

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup or 1/2 stick of butter diced small
  • 1 egg slightly beaten
  • 1 3/4 cup buttermilk room temp if possible
  • 1 1/2 cups currants or raisins--that was in the original and they work great.
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest

Instructions

  1. In a bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender/two knives/the back of a fork. You want small pieces and for the butter and flour mixture to look crumbly. Add the currants.

  2. Measure your buttermilk and add the zest and the egg. Pour your buttermilk mixture into your dry ingredients with a large spoon until well blended, but you don’t want to beat the dough–you want to treat it gently.

  3. Dump your sticky wet dough onto a well-floured surface and divide in half. Shape each half of the dough into a round loaf and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Make a deep cross into the top of each loaf, about 1/2 inch deep and bake for about 35 minutes to 40 minutes, till golden brown and it sounds hollow when you tap on the bread. Let cool for 10 minutes or more before cutting and serving with lots of butter. Mmmmmm.