(Mass Appeal) – Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day and we’ve got just the right recipe for you to make your dinner the best. Danielle Formaro, author of ‘Add This to Your Plate: Mastering the Essentials in Cooking, Nutrition and Fitness’ is with us now to share her recipe for Irish Soda Bread.
Irish Soda Bread:
4 cups all purpose flour, plus 1/4 cup more for dusting
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, plus 1/2 tbsp to greased skillet
1 3/4 cups cold lowfat buttermilk
1 large egg, cold
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries, or half cup of both
1-2 teaspoons caraway seeds (based on how strong you like flavor, I like 1 tsp personally)
1. Preheat oven at 375˚F. Grease a 10″ cast-iron skillet with about a 1/2 Tbsp butter
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. Cut butter into small pieces and use your fingers to work the butter into the flour until crumbs form stir in the raisins, breaking up any clumps of raisins. Make a well in the center.
3. In a large measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk and egg then add this mixture into the flour mixture. Use a wooden spoon and mix just until lightly moistened and dough barely starts to come together.
4. Transfer to a floured surface and use floured hands to shape the dough just until it forms into a round loaf. If it’s too sticky to handle, dust lightly with flour. Do not over-mix or bread will be tough.
5. Transfer to the buttered skillet, use a knife to score the top with a large and deep “X”. Bake in the center of your preheated oven at 375 for 50-55min. When you tap on the bread, it should sound hollow inside. Transfer bread to a wire rack to cool.
