Irish Soda Bread

• nutrition focus

  What does this food offer in terms of nutrients and physical nourishment?

  Protein (sour cream, eggs)

  Carbohydrates (flour, currants)

  Fat (sour cream, butter)

  Fiber (currants)

  Other (dried currants contain iron and potassium)

• satisfaction factor

  What does this food offer in terms of mental satisfaction through flavor, texture, and experience?

  Dense

  Firm

  Chewy

  Rich

  Sweet

  Tangy

  Herbaceous

File this bread under: Things You’d Find At the End of a Rainbow. This thick, slightly sweet bread paired with a generous smear of salted butter is a delicious ode to my Irish-American heritage.

Soda bread has been my favorite holiday food tradition ever since I was a kid and I’m sharing my family’s recipe with you, aren’t you lucky? While many traditional recipes call for buttermilk and butter, my family has always used sour cream instead. Which I’m grateful for because it simplifies the prep time significantly! I’ve made a few edits to suit my palate, like subbing currants for raisins. This makes the recipe feel my own and allow me to reduce my food waste (I am not a frequent consumer of raisins).

The wonder of Irish soda bread is this dense almost cake-like bread to be enjoyed for breakfast, snack, or dessert. A bread that can do all 3? Now that’s straight up MAGIC.

Allergens: Wheat/gluten, dairy

Servings: 1 loaf

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 70 minutes

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups all purpose (or 1:1 GF baking flour, if needed)

1 pint sour cream

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup dried currants (or raisins, if you’d like!)

1/2 tsp caraway seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease a cast iron skillet (my preferred method).

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine wet ingredients.

3. Slowly whisk in the sugar.

4. In a separate small mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda and powder.

5. To the wet bowl, gradually add in dry ingredients, 1/2 cup at a time.

6. Fold in currants/raisins and caraway seeds until evenly distributed.

7. Form into a round loaf and place on sheet or pan.*

8. Bake for 1 hour or until top toasts and knife comes out clean.

9. Serve warm with a nice pat of salted butter (I recommend Kerry Gold grass-fed Irish butter!).

*Tip: The dough will be sticky so forming it to a round loaf can be challenging. Try wetting your hands before patting and smoothing the dough.

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