Irish Soda Bread

This bread is very easy to make and uses only a few ingredients. It is very similar to making scones. Best to eat it fresh on the first day.
The bread came out quite dense and the crusty part is quite tough. I added some raisins and a little bit of cinnamon to give a nice taste to the bread.
I used it to make Fresh toast and it was quite nice. Not recommend making bread pudding with this bread because it is too dense and it won’t absorb the custard well.
Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour/bread flour (I used bread flour)
1/4 cup (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
2-4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1+3/4 to 2 cups buttermilk
1 cup raisins or currents
Method:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Then add butter and cut in with a pastry blender or by hand until resembling coarse crumbs.
2. Mix in the raisins and stir well.
3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add half of the buttermilk at first. Stir until moistened. Then continue adding buttermilk and stir until a shaky dough forms.
4. Transfer the dough onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper and dusted with flour.
5. Sprinkle more flour on top and gather the dough together and fold it a few times by hand to form a round ball. Do not overwork the dough.
6. Slit the dough across the top on both sides with a sharp knife. Brush with the remaining buttermilk.
7. Bake in preheated oven at 425 deg. F for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown on top and a skewer insert in the center and come out clean/dry.
8. You may need to cover the bread with foil after 20 minutes of baking time to prevent burning.
9. Let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

[@eva5601]

Very easy, and economical.

[@eva5601]

Thank you!

[@eva5601]

I am making this recipe tomorrow.

[@wanidacarter11]

Thank you.