Course: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine: European, Irish
Keyword: bread
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 437kcal
This easy-to-make quick bread is great for breakfast, brunch, or teatime.
Print Recipe
- 1 cup (145 grams) currants
- 3 cups (420 grams) bread flour
- 1 cup (125 grams) cake flour
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar optional
- 2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (6 grams) kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) baking powder
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter cold
- 1 1/4 cups (310 milliliters) buttermilk cold
Rehydrate the Currants
Soak the currants in 1 cup of very hot tap water for 20 minutes.Drain the currants well using a fine-mesh sieve and set them aside.
Prepare the Irish Soda Bread Dough
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly spray a 5 qt cast iron dutch oven with non-stick baking spray. Crisscross two 3-inch wide strips of parchment paper inside the pot. Set it to the side while you prepare the dough. *See notes for baking without a dutch oven.* In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to toss the bread flour, cake flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, kosher salt, and baking powder together for 1 minute or until well combined.
Next, shred the cold butter into the dry ingredients. Use your fingers to break the butter into smaller pieces and coat it with the dry ingredients. The mixture should resemble coarse cornmeal when you're done. Toss the drained currants into the butter-flour mixture until they are coated in the flour. Add the buttermilk to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Use your hands to mix the buttermilk into the ingredients until it forms a very thick dough. Scrape the dough onto your countertop and fold it over 2 times or until it holds together. If the dough is not holding together, add a 1/4 cup more buttermilk.
Bake, then Cool the Irish Soda Bread
Swaps and Substitutions:
- Use a 9 or 10-inch cake pan or bake the loaf free-form on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper instead of using cast iron dutch oven.
- Use 4 cups (or 550 grams) all-purpose flour instead of the bread and cake flours. The bread's texture will be more crumbly with substitution.
- Replace the buttermilk with an equal amount of plain greek or regular yogurt, sour cream, or kefir.
- Replace the currants with cranberries, raisins, or sultanas (golden raisins), or omit the fruit completely.
Tips and Techniques:
- Start soaking the current before measuring out the rest of the ingredients. By the time you're ready to start, they will be soft.
- Currants that aren't rehydrated become harder and chewier when you start baking them.
- The parchment paper in the pan isn't a must, but it does help remove the baked loaf from the pot later.
- Cold butter is essential in this recipe because you want it to hold its shape after mixing it with the dry ingredients.
- Remember that once you add the buttermilk, your clock starts ticking. The baking soda reacts, and the longer it takes to get into the oven, the shorter your loaf will be.
- Don't overmix the dough, or your bread will become tough as it bakes.
- You can sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cake flour over the loaf before baking for a prettier loaf after baking.
- Covering the loaf after removing it from the oven softens the crust of Irish soda bread slightly. If you like the texture of a really crisp crust, you can skip that step.
Storage Instructions:
-
Transfer leftovers to an airtight container.
-
Store the bread at room temperature for 3 days.
-
Reheat slices in the toaster to give it that freshly baked flavor.
Freezing Instructions:
- Allow the loaf to cool completely.
- Wrap the loaf in plastic wrap and then into a freezer storage bag.
- Freeze the bread for 2 months.
You can thaw the frozen loaf at room temperature, then slice and reheat using your preferred method.
Calories: 437kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 443mg | Potassium: 268mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 303IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 1mg