st paddy's week

Toby held St. Patrick's Day dinner a day late, and I made the above Irish soda bread from Doro's recipe. I'm sure hers was better (and her photo was better too), but mine was good enough that the Reilly recipe has been requested. It's going to snow tomorrow, so plan ahead! Feel free to take the rest of my buttermilk, or you can use yogurt mixed with milk.
Also note that corned beef has gone on sale.

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Kilkenny Irish Soda Bread Doroʼs favorite (and only) ISB recipe  

Pre-heat oven at 375 degrees 4 cups unbleached flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, pinch of salt

1 T caraway seeds Toss all that together

Crumble in 1/3 cup room temperature unsalted butter and work in with your hands or a pastry blender until the consistency is like cornmeal. It doesnʼt take long.

Add 1 cup raisins, light and dark or all dark - whatever your preference.

In separate bowl, combine 1 1/3 cups buttermilk, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 egg. Mix it all up.

Pour buttermilk combo into the well of flour mixture and combine. I donʼt like to kneed too much - just until you have your dough formed.

Now you have two options.

Leave dough whole and make one large bread or split in half to make two. I always make two and sometimes three from one recipe.

Handle with floured hands and place one, two or three breads in buttered pyrex or glass casserole. Cut a criss cross on top, and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes. Test by inserting knife in center and gently picking up out of dish to see that bottom is golden - you know.

- St. Patrickʼs Day, 2015