Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
My kids ate this tender and delicious soda bread with their bowl of celebratory Lucky Charms for breakfast this morning. 😉 It was also wonderful on its own with and without a little butter and jam. It could be warmed and served with dinner as well.
The recipe was adapted from Kathleen’s Bake Shop Cookbook: The Best Recipes from Southampton’s Favorite Bakery for Homestyle Cookies, Cakes, Pies, Muffins and Breads by Kathleen King, the founder of Tate’s Bake Shop. I incorporated whole wheat pastry flour, unsalted butter, coarse salt and modified the baking time for a convection oven. My husband thought that it may be the best version I’ve ever made. Great.
Yield: two 7 to 8-inch round loaves
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 T granulated sugar
- 1 T baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/4 tsp coarse salt
- 8 T (1/2 cup or 1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 cup raisins
- 2 to 3 T caraway seeds, to taste
- 2 cups buttermilk (I used low-fat)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, preferably on convection. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
- Add the raisins and caraway seeds and toss lightly.
- Add buttermilk and mix with a fork until all dry ingredients are moistened. (The dough will be very soft and wet.)
- Form the dough into a ball and turn it out onto a lightly floured board or counter. Knead for about 30 seconds or until the dough is smooth.
- Divide the dough into two equal portions and shape into balls.
- Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, cut and “X” on top of each loaf about 1/4-inch deep.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in a convection oven, or up to 50 minutes in a standard oven, or until crusty and golden. (I baked my loaves on convection for 37 minutes.)
thebrookcook 
Perfect timing. ☘️