Irish Soda Bread

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
• 1 1/4 cups dark raisins
• 1 tablespoon caraway seed

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 40 degrees f; line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
• 2 in a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg, and baking soda; set aside.
• 3 fit a food processor with the metal blade, and process the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt until just combined, about 5 seconds; add butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, another 15 to 20 seconds.
• 4 transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in raisins and caraway; make a well in the center of the dough and pour in the buttermilk mixture.
• 5 combine, with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until a wet dough forms; divide in two equal portions.
• 6 on a floured work surface, form each portion into a round loaf, about 5 inches in diameter (actually it will be a gloppy mess).
• 7 place each round on the prepared baking sheet, leaving several inches between loaves and sides of pan to allow for spreading.
• 8 using a sharp knife or a pastry cutter, cut each round into 5 equal wedges (known as scoring); sprinkle with flour to give the loaves a "rustic" look.
• 9 bake for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 degrees f and continue baking until loaves are golden brown on the top and bottom, about 15 to 20 minutes more.
• 10 a toothpick inserted should come out clean; cool on wire racks and serve either warm or room temperature.