Boy do I look forward to St. Patrick's Day. Okay, so they don't make a big deal out of it in Ireland, and they don't eat corned beef and cabbage. Well, we do.
It's hard to find a corned beef that isn't ginormous, but we try. And in addition to the beef and cabbage, we add carrots and potatoes. Yum, yum.
But best of all, we have Irish Soda Bread. It's the only time of the year we make it, and we always make it together. Over the years we've tried several recipes and tweaked them. This is the final result. I hope you like it!
Irish Soda Bread
4 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1½ cups buttermilk
¼ cup corn or canola oil
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 cup golden raisons
1 tablespoon milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Foil-line a baking sheet, lightly grease.
In a large bowl, stir the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, buttermilk, and oil together. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the buttermilk mixture. Add the caraway seeds and raisins. Stir until a soft dough forms.
With floured hands, shape the dough into a large ball on a lightly floured board or waxed paper. With a sharp knife, make an X across the top of the dough. Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top with milk. Bake in the center of the oven until golden brown (30 to 40 minutes).
Serve warm with butter.
(P.S. Tastes grand with a glass of Irish Whiskey.)
