Irish Soda Bread (Bill Herlihy) The Chew

By Golfwidow7

Tips
- Keep the butter in the freezer until ready to use.
- Whisk the egg into the buttermilk and then incorporate into the dry ingredients.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for work surface)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted Irish butter (cut into small cubes & frozen)
• 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream (room temperature)
• 1 large egg (room temperature)
• 2 cups raisins
• 1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
• caraway seeds (optional)
• softened, salted Irish butter to serve

Details

Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 75mins
Adapted from thechew.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375°F with a rack set in lower third of oven. Line a sheet pan with parchment.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add the butter to the dry ingredients, tossing to coat. Then stir in the sour cream and egg to the dry ingredients. Mix, using your fingertips, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins, buttermilk, and caraway seeds (if using) and mix until a sticky dough forms.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a floured bench scraper, form into a round loaf. Using a sharp knife, score a large "X" in the center.
Place on the prepared sheet pan and transfer to oven. Bake until loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. If top begins to brown too quickly, loosely cover with a piece of parchment paper-lined aluminum foil. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Slice and serve slathered with softened, salted Irish butter.