A loaf of Raisin Soda Bread, also known as Spotted Dick or Spotted Dog, with a hot cup of tea is one of life's little pleasures. Now, a soda bread can be many things. In its basic form it contains only four ingredients; flour, salt, baking soda, and buttermilk, but it can be transformed when you add other ingredients. And that is what we did for this recipe. We added a little sugar and some plump Thompson raisins, then cut in some butter, which gives us a lovely golden brown bread with a soft and crumbly texture. Perfect sliced and spread with butter.

As I mentioned above, soda bread contains flour, salt, baking soda, and buttermilk. It does not use yeast to get its rise, instead the rise comes from baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) reacting with the acid (soured milk or buttermilk). This makes it a 'quick' bread that can be made in under 15 minutes and you can be enjoying a slice in under an hour. The important thing to remember, and I cannot stress this enough, is to have a quick light hand for both mixing and kneading of the dough. This will give you a bread that is dense, but not doughy, with a tender, slightly moist interior. Once the dough is formed into a round, a cross is cut on the top of the bread, dividing it into quarters (called farls).

Irish Soda Bread contains buttermilk which has a nice thick creamy texture with a rich tangy buttery taste that makes this bread tender. Whereas in the past it was the liquid left over after churning butter it is now commercially made by adding a bacteria to whole, skim, or low fat milk. You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar, cider vinegar, or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before using.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture, with a pastry blender or two knives, until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add most of the buttermilk. Using yours hands, or a wooden spoon, mix (adding more buttermilk if necessary) until you have a soft moist dough.

Transfer to a lightly floured surface and gently knead the dough into a 7 inch (18 cm) round that is about 1 inch (2.54 cm) thick. Place the round on your prepared baking sheet and then, with a sharp knife, cut a 1/4 inch deep "X" across the top of the bread.

Bake for about 40 - 50 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. You can also test that is fully baked by tapping the bottom of the bread - it should sound hollow. Remove from oven. This bread is wonderful when served warm with butter. It also makes great toast.

Makes one seven inch (18 cm) round raisin soda bread.

Sources:

Alexander, Stephanie. The Cook's Companion. Penguin Group (Australia). London: 2004.

Allen, Darina. Ballymaloe Seasons. Roberts Rhinehart Publishers. Niwot, Colorado: 1997.

Allen, Myrtle. Myrtle Allen's Cooking at Ballymaloe House. Stewart, Tabori & Chang. New York: 1999.

Davidson, Alan. The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press. Oxford: 1999.

Laverty, Maura. Maura Laverty's Cookery Book. Longmans, Green & Co. London: 1946.

Recipe:

3 cups (420 grams) all-purpose flour (or 1 1/2 cups (210 grams) whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups (210 grams) white all purpose flour)

3 tablespoons (40 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons (42 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

3/4 cup (100 grams) Thompson raisins

1 1/2 cups (360 ml) buttermilk (soured milk)

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