In honor of A Short and Unhappy Courtship, and all things Irish, I’ve posted the recipe for the world’s best soda bread. The recipe is from a cool flower shop on Snelling Ave. in St. Paul. Here in Minnesota March is hinting at spring. Celebrate the warmer weather with this little treat. It’s delicious and, with a cuppa something hot, perfect for snuggling in with a good book!
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
Gather your ingredients. You’ll need: 4 1/2 cups of flour, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, 4 Tbsp butter, 1 cup raisins, 1/2 tsp caraway seeds, 1 large egg (lightly beaten) and 2 cups buttermilk (or if you don’t have buttermilk, 2 cups of regular milk and 2 Tbsp lemon juice mixed together work just fine.)
Sift the flour, sugar, salt and baking soda together in a large mixing bowl.
Work the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles course crumbs.
Make a well in the mixture and add the egg and buttermilk. Flour your hands and knead. Add the caraway seeds and raisins. Mix again but do NOT over knead; just until it’s all blended. Otherwise it’ll be tough bread.
Shape into a shaggy ball and transfer to a baking sheet. Score top with an ‘X’. (This helps the center cook.) Bake ~15 minutes and then cover lightly with a piece of aluminum foil and bake for another 20-25 minutes. (The aluminum foil keeps the top from getting too brown.)
Let cool slightly and enjoy!
