The month of March celebrates St. Patrick’s Day and that means Irish Soda Bread! We’ve created a recipe for this classic side for those that have gluten allergies. My favorite way of eating this tasty bread is by slightly warming it up with a thin spread of Kerrygold butter. Try it – your taste buds will thank you!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Grab a large mixing bowl and sift the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and cream of tartar (this is important to do so your bread is light and fluffy, not heavy and dense).
Blend in the cold butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles a course corn meal consistency and you can see the tiny bits of flower coating the butter pieces.
Add the buttermilk and stir in until mixed. Stir in the currants and caraway seeds and blend well. I like to sprinkle the seeds over the entire top of the mixture in the bowl, so they are spread out a bit versus clumped in one spot.
Take the dough out of the bowl and shape into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet. Take the palm of your hand and slightly flatten the dough into a circle shape leaving a bit of a dome in the center. Cut a cross in the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 45-50 Minutes. Cool on a wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature.
STORAGE: Keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days. It can also be sliced and frozen.
NOTES: To get the full flavor of this bread, you should try your best to use the caraway seeds and dried currants. You can, however skip the caraway seeds if you dislike the taste/smell (like licorice) and substitute the currants with dried raisins. This recipe really needs butter, and the real stuff is best! Go for it – I love Kerrygold, it’s all I use in my home. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use 1 cup milk plus 2 Tbsp. of white vinegar.
Serving Size 1 slice