Irish Soda Bread

With St. Patrick's Day not too far behind us, I'd like to share a lovely and easy recipe appropriate for the season - soda bread! Big thanks to Alexandra Cooks for the recipe!

Ingredients

For the Irish Soda Bread:

• 4 cups (510 g) all-purpose flour, see notes below for making it whole grain

• 2 teaspoons (12 g) Diamond Crystal kosher salt, see notes above

• 1 tablespoon (13 g) sugar

• 1 teaspoon (5 g) baking soda

• 1 cup dried currants, optional 

• 1 egg

• 1¾ cups (410 g) buttermilk, see notes above

• 2 tablespoons melted butter

For finishing:

• room temperature butter

• flour 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, baking soda, and currants (if using).

2. In a medium bowl, beat the egg and buttermilk. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until combined. Mixture will be sticky. Grease a 9- or 10-inch cast iron skillet (or other similarly sized vessel) with softened butter. Set aside.

3. Lightly flour your hands and sprinkle a little flour over the sticky dough ball. Use your hands to scrape the dough from the sides of the bowl and to quickly shape the mass into a ball, kneading lightly if necessary. Transfer to prepared skillet. Sprinkle with a teensy bit more flour. Use a sharp knife to make an X across the top of the dough ball. Place in oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until lightly golden and bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from oven, transfer to cooling rack, and let cool for 15 minutes before slicing.

4. To store Irish soda bread, tuck it into an airtight bag (such as a ziplock) or an airtight vessel. You can store it at room temperature for about 3-4 days or freeze it for up to 2-3 months.